Story of my Life
by Kali Swifteye
Summary: UNDER GOING SERIOUS REVISION. HAD TO TAKE A LONG BREAK, BUT AM BACK AND SO EXCITED TO MAKE THIS STORY EVEN BETTER! Will let you know when it's all done, am looking for GOOD beta to help out!
1. Explaining

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 1- Explaining**

Okay, so I'm betting you all want to know- what is this story about?

Well, I'll tell you. It's about a handsome, charming, brave, daring blonde called The Great Uzumaki Naruto, and how he defeated the evil society that-

_That has nothing to do with this story, and you are _definitely_ not charming, handsome, brave, or great. Mabye daring, if that's what you call pushing the limits of everything._

Shut up, Uchiha-bastard! This is _my_ story! I'm gonna tell it the way I want to tell it!

_And leave out all the good parts? No possible chance._

Whadya mean by that, hotshot?!

_Hotshot? Hm, that's one I haven't heard since about second grade._

Go back to your hellhole, Satan! This is my story! MINE!!!

_I'm a main character in it as well, dobe._

Please stop fighting, you two. You know it gives me a headache.

Sorry, Haku. But Sasuke's stealing my role as the narrator!

_I'm just trying to keep the facts straight, so you don't make it look like I'm a weak, simple-minded, egotistical pretty boy._

Wow, you just described yourself perfectly...

_That was so funny I forgot to laugh._

Why don't you just find someone else to tell it?

-sigh- Fine, fine. Hey, Haku! You can tell it!

I don't know, Naruto...

Aw, c'mon! You know everything, and you won't favor the bastard over my brilliance!

_Or glorify Naruto's stupidity._

Alright then. Hello everyone. I am Haku, and I shall be your official narrator. This is a tale mainly centered around Naruto, but Sasuke comes in many times as well. Now, Naruto was never the brightest kid in the bunch although he is extremely skilled with surprise tactics and one-of-a-kind plans (mostly to get in trouble). As you might have already guessed, this will be a documented presentation of his adventures. 

A story of his life, if you don't mind the cliched phrase.

**AN- okay, I know, very short...but I wanted to get this up before I go to my christmas party!! Longer chapters will follow.**


	2. How it all Began

**Title- Story of My Life**

**Chapter 2- How it All Began**

**AN- This story will be told in third person POV, with little notes from Haku. He's **

**not really telling the story. The first chapter might have been a little confusing. **

**Side note- This story was inspired by a fanart I saw of Naruto **

**in the fifth volume.**

**-----------------------------------------------**

_Wherever there is authority, there is a natural inclination towards disobedience._

-Thomas Haliburton

_Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught._

- J.C. Watts

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Hello, this is Haku again. We shall start this story where- well, where it all started, in the supreme court office of the Honorable Third Judge of Konoha.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you were found guilty of stealing one cup of ramen, breaking out of Konoha Juvenile Hall thirty times, breaking out of Konoha Prison twenty-nine times, and eluding those who searched for you after you escaped in the court of law," the judge told the sullen blonde, who was currently sitting before him. He leaned forward and said to Naruto, "I must admit, your ways of escaping were quite creative, Uzumaki; and in this way you have pushed upon me a decision I wish I never had to make."

"Geez, all of them?" Naruto complained. "I mean, the escaping I see, but can't you forget the ramen thing? For all the things I've done, you put _that_ down in the books!"

"Naruto, be quiet!" His guardian, Iruka, said harshly. Turning to the judge, he asked him, "Sir, what is the verdict you've reached?"

The old man sighed. "Naruto, since we are unable to contain you for even five days in the Juvenile Hall, you are sentenced to be held in the Four Countries Maximum Security Prison for ten years, with no chance of parole."

The blonde's jaw dropped. "What?" he exclaimed.

"But your Honor," Iruka stuttered, just as shocked as Naruto, "He's not even seventeen yet!"

"I understand that, Iruka, but his behavior has brought around this punishment."

Naruto scrunched up his face, angry. Crossing his arms, he glared at the judge. "What if I escape again, huh? You of all people know that I can get out of anything, even a Max Prison!"

"Then I will have to relieve Iruka of his position as your current guardian and put you in the foster program again."

At this, Naruto became pale, and his arms went slack. He looked away, then met the judge's eyes. "So, old fart, you're saying that if I don't escape, Iruka can still be my guardian?"

"Yes."

Okay, okay, I'll stop to explain some things for you. This must be confusing to you all. Two years ago, Naruto stole a cup of ramen. Stupid, I know, but when does Naruto not do stupid things? He was sentenced to jail for five days, and he did another stupid thing. He broke out. They caught him of course, but as soon as he was back there he escaped again. Naruto earned the reputation of being able to get out of anything: any trap, any cell, any chain. Unfortunately, he also earned a bounty of one million dollars on his head, because not only would he escape, he would hide and stay hidden, avoiding the law at every turn. His history of violence before he was placed under Iruka's care didn't help him much, either. All this gave poor Iruka a headache, but he blamed it on the way Naruto had been treated as a child. (Don't ask me about it now, you'll find out later.) Alright, I'm going back to the story, but I'm gonna skip ahead a little, to when he arrived at the Four Countries Maximum Security Prison.

"Alright, alright, get moving!" the guard barked to the blonde boy. He couldn't believe that this teenager could be the infamous Uzumaki Naruto. After all, he looked harmless enough; wearing a bright orange-and-blue jacket and strange goggles over his head. His pack was small, and he shivered slightly. 'Kid must be scared to death of this place,' he thought, before yelling again, "Move it!"

Little did the guard know that Naruto was shivering with the thought of the challenge that the armed fortress would hold, for him to escape. Until he remembered what the judge had said about Iruka, and he frowned. 'Stupid old geezer, ruining all my fun.' "Just chill, damn!" He retorted to the guard. "I just wanna get a look at the place that I'll be spending the next decade in."

"Well hurry up. It looks like the boys are eager to see you." The guard grinned evilly, and poked Naruto with the butt of his gun. "We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?"

Naruto began walking, muttering things about 'damn asshole guards that never leave you alone' and 'what the hell does he mean, "eager"? Sounds rapist to me...' but as soon as they entered the hall where the cells were, he immediately saw what the guard had met.

"Hey look, it's the kid we heard about!"

"Quite a pretty boy, ain't he?"

"What's yer name, shorty?"

"What'd you do to get in here, kid?"

"You can spend the night in my cell any night you want!"

Naruto stuck out his middle finger at the person who had said the last thing without turning and continued to follow the guard.

"Hey, looky there, the kid's got spirit!"

"Ooh, I'm real scared!"

"Better watch your back, boy!"

"We're here," the guard said sharply, shoving Naruto into Cell #189. "Your number is 4521. Don't wear that jacket anymore, just the prison denims. Be on time to everything- if you aren't, we'll go looking for you." Naruto just yawned. He had been through the routine warnings probably a thousand times before, and he knew them by heart. The guard noted this and grinned. "Kid, you got spunk, but I won't be surprised if that changes soon. Especially with the cell mate you have." The guard closed the iron bar doors, locked it, and walked away.

Naruto rubbed his eyes and groaned, before walking over to the empty cot and plopping down on it. "What the hell does he mean by that? 'Especially with the cell mate you have,'" he mocked, exaggerating the macho tone of the guard. Naruto looked up at the blank, white space that was his ceiling and spoke to it, saying, "Hello, ceiling. I'll be looking up at you a lot. For the next ten years, actually, so I hope you like me, 'cause you can't get rid of me. Hm, wonder what Iruka's making right now. Probably some spaghetti with extra meat sauce, and garlic bread. He likes his spaghetti almost as much as I like ramen. Oh, and ceiling? I'll be talking about Iruka a lot too. He's my guardian, you know. Well, how could you know? It's not really possible, since you're been here since this place was built. I think this will be my favorite prison so far- iron everything, gated everything, guards everywhere. I'd love to try to escape, other than the whole Iruka thi-"

"Do you always talk to yourself?" A deep voice interrupted him.

Naruto jumped, startled, and looked around. "What the- who are you?" he asked a dark haired man, who was currently sitting on the cot across from him, giving him a curious look. His hair was somehow spiked up and back, and a few bangs fell over the headband that identified him as a Konoha prisoner. He didn't look any older than mabye nineteen, but his eyes were cold and uncaring.

"You're the new kid." the man stated him, ignoring his question. "Word is, you had a bounty on your head. How much was it?" He leaned forward and stared deep into Naruto's eyes, as if he could read the blonde's mind, and this made Naruto very nervous and uncomfortable. "You can't be older than fifteen." he commented in a overbearing voice.

At that, Naruto jumped up, curled his hands into a fist, and snarled, "I'm almost seventeen, bastard!"

The man's eyebrows snapped together as he glared at Naruto. "Bastard, eh?"

"Yeah, bastard! You could at least tell me your name before insulting me!"

"Me, insult you? You just called me a bastard!"

"And you said I was fifteen!" The blonde glared right back at the man, before pulling down his goggles over his eyes and lying on the cot again. "Sheesh, talk about a welcome committee! First I got a guard that doesn't even know how famous I am, next I had a rapist hit on me, and now I have a cell mate that had a stick shoved up his ass! I mean, what kind of whack-jobs do they have here?!?"

The man's frown disappeared and an emotionless look took its place. "Famous, eh? If you're so famous, mind telling me _your_ name, teme?"

"My name is- no, wait a second!" he interrupted himself. He thought for a moment, then a fox-like grin spread across his face, stretching the parallel scars on his cheeks. "I don't really feel like giving my name. I can start new here!" The thought had just come to him, and his eyes lit up with joy. Laughing, he forgot all about his quarrel with the man and leaned back on his cot once more. "No need for a name- they give you a number! And they always stick nicknames on me anyway."

"They?" the man inquired. "And you've been in jail before?" This boy was certianly an interesting character.

Naruto began to tell his new cell mate that he had been in the Konoha Juvenile Center _and_ Prison, but once again decided to keep that information to himself. 'This is gonna be fun,' he thought with glee. Outloud he told him, "Yeah, I've been in prison before. And _they_ are all the other prisoners. Let's see, what names have I been given before...Fox, The Brat, Demon Child, Teme, Dobe was a popular one..." He began to list all the names that he had been called.

The man rubbed his temples. "I get the point," he said, annoyed. A bell rung, and he sighed. "You better put on the uniform. Dinner's gonna start soon. And by the way...take those stupid goggles off your head."

Naruto's hands flew up to his goggles protectively and shook his head. "Are you kidding? No way am I gonna take these off!"

"Fine then, at least take them off from over your eyes."

Tugging them up to pull back his messy hair, Naruto grinned at his cell mate. "Heh, forgot they were there. So, what's your name?"

The man paused for a moment, then sighing and telling him, "Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." 'And now the shocked pause in which he will question if I am _the_ Uchiha Sasuke that-'

"Nice to meet you, Sasuke-bastard," Naruto interrupted Sasuke's thoughts cheerfully. "Never heard of a guy with that name before. Sasuke...Sasuke...kinda funny to say..." he muttered to himself as he tugged off his black shirt, not noticing the look of surprise on Sasuke's face.

'He...he doesn't know who I am? What I did?' He felt some relief, as he watched the young blonde amuse himself by repeating Sasuke's name over and over, and also a tug at his ego. 'I thought everyone knew me...knows what I did...how can _he_ not know me? Especially if he's from Konoha.'

"Let's go, ladies!" a strong voice yelled from down the hall. "Get yourself into action!"

Ah well. There would be time to question the blonde later. Right now, it was time to see how the boy would react to the strange people that he would meet in the cafeteria.

"C'mon, Kid," Sasuke told him. "You'll enjoy meeting some of the other prisoners."


	3. Dinner and Introductions

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 3- Dinner and Introductions**

**AN- In this story there are only four countries: Leaf, Sand, Mist, and Sound **

**(Konoha, Suna, Kiro, and Otonin. I think that's the right name for Sound. If not, **

**tell me, and I'll correct it right away! ) **

**Averaye-** Heh heh, wouldn't _you_ like to know? -evil laughter-

**Sinha Clan Descendent**- I'll try to write long chapters, but I'm not good enough, really

**Iceheart19**- -pout- Naruto's chat with the ceiling was my favorite part! I have to put _some_ insanity in him!

**Yaoilover S**- lol Yeah, you never know what might happen in the dark of night...just the two of them...-cackles- I can't believe you're reviewing my story! You've reviewed almost all my favorite stories!! -dies from unbelief- you're like a legend to me...

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_He knew the precise psychological moment when to say nothing. _

- Oscar Wilde

_...You can't blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity._

- Graham Green

-------------------------------------------

"Like this uniform is even any different from my jacket," Naruto muttered as he tugged on the bright orange shirt. "The stupid guards probably wouldn't even notice the difference." Thinking that it was a bit too silent, he looked behind him and saw with shock that Sasuke had just opened the cell door and was gone. "H-hey! Wait up!" He scrambled out of the cell as he ran to catch up to Sasuke. "What's with this prison?" the blonde demanded. "The judge just dragged me to this place without any paper work, then I'm shoved into a cell that you just walk out of when it's dinner time, and the guard doesn't even escort us! What kind of a place is this?"

Sasuke glared at him. "Don't you ever shut up? I can't believe my utterly bad luck," he added. "The first person they put in a cell with me and it has to be some wind-up toy teenager who has tattoos of whiskers on his face. Did you scratch them on because you thought they would make you look tough?" he mocked the blonde. He knew he would regret it later, but there was something about Naruto's cheerful manner that irked him.

At Sasuke's remark about his face, Naruto immediately went from curious to hateful, and he quickly pulled his goggles down over his eyes. "It's none of your business, bastard!" he spat. 'Damn! All I did was ask about the prison and he insults me! Whatta jerk! He doesn't deserve to know how great and famous I am!' With this thought in his head he stormed ahead of his uncaring cell mate, his head held high. He followed the flow of prisoners into the cafeteria.

It was after a few seconds that Naruto realized how lost he really was.

Extremely lost.

Not only lost, but lost in a huge room full of prisoners.

Tattoo-covered, head-shaven, frighteningly buff prisoners.

His huge ego and ability to ignore anyone and everyone were the only things that kept him from running back to his cell (Everyone seemed to stop and stare, glance, or glare at the blonde who had three marks on each cheek and wore goggles over his eyes). Using these abilities of his, he carefully observed the area where he would be eating all his meals for the next ten years. There were four large banners, each one hung over a certain section of the dining hall. A green one that pronounced "Konoha" was spread over the west side, a yellow one with "Suna" on it hung from the south side, a blue one with "Kiro" on it covered the east side, and a black one that read "Otonin" was draped over the north side. 'That's probably where we have to sit,' Naruto mused as he got in the line for dinner. 'I don't see anyone I know...I guess that's a good thing, but I would like to know someone in this hell hole...'

"So you're the foxy thing everyone's talking about," a deep voice interrupted Naruto's thoughts. "Not that bad, I gotta admit."

Naruto turned around and glared at the man behind him. "What was that?"

"You heard me," the man said, a glint in his eye that Naruto immediately recognized. Around his arm was a cloth band with the sign for Sand on it. "You weren't very nice to my friend when he greeted you, you know."

"What, was he that pervert that wanted me to have sex with him?" the blonde snapped back, in his usual blunt manner. "In that case, I should've done more that just flip him off. Since he's in Max, I don't think anyone would miss him, but it _is_ my first day, and first impressions gotta last." He began to turn back around, since it was almost his turn at the counter, but the man grabbed him by the arm and spun him around again.

"Not polite at all," he continued, as if Naruto had never spoken. "We're gonna have to fix that, won't we, boys?" A group of men sauntered over to the line, each one having an evil look on their faces.

Naruto looked around, now frantic. He didn't want to fight- not now, at least. But since he didn't know anyone, how could he... "Haku!" he exclaimed, relief in his voice.

The Sand group froze, and the man went pale. "You're bluffing," he said in a fierce voice, attempting to regain the fear he had seen in Naruto just seconds ago. But it was too late, and Naruto was grinning wildly.

"Haku!! Over here!" he said again, this time in a louder voice.

A young man with long black hair that looked remarkably like a young woman stopped serving food to the inmates. He was sweating slightly, and his hair was pulled back and held there in a hair net. Wiping his hands on his dirty apron, and stared in shock at the blonde. "Naruto?" he asked, hesitantly but delighted. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came for a visit," he told Haku cheerfully, slowly backing away from the men that were also slowly backing up.

Noticing the men that surrounded Naruto, Haku smiled softly and twirled a toothpick between his thumb and forefinger. "I bet they were just about to leave. After all, no seconds, gentlemen," he scolded gently.

"Any problems over here, ladies?" A guard walked over, and Naruto shuddered just looking at him. He was taller than all the prisoners, and had large, sinewy muscles. "You know how much _fun_ I have breaking up fights."

"Everything is fine, Zabuza-sama," Haku said, smiling. He was still twirling his toothpick. "I was just explaining to these men about how seconds on their meals."

"W-we were just leaving," stuttered the man who had first walked up to Naruto. The others nodded energetically, and they all went back to their seats pale and nervous.

Haku looked up at Zabuza, the smile still on his face. "That was nice of you," he said absently to Zabuza as he put the toothpick down and returned to his job of serving the food, "but you know I have more sense than to harm them in public. I would have done it a much sneakier way."

The guard just shrugged. "You always have to get yourself into Seperation, don't you?"

"Only because you're the only one that works there," Haku told him sweetly.

"H-haku, you _know_ him?!?" Naruto yelped, smacking a hand to his forehead.

His friend just sighed. "Don't act so shocked. He's the only descent guard in this prison." (He ignored Zabuza's remark of, "You only think so because I got you this job, and because we play poker in Seperation.") "And speaking of shock, how did _you_ get in here?" Haku demanded. "You were the most careful one of our gang. How did you get caught? And why did you put your goggles on? Those men were powerful-looking, yes, but I didn't see you get angry."

"To question number one, the biggest screw-up of my life," Naruto muttered sullenly, tugging his goggles back up on top of his head. "To question number two, I have the most arrogant bastard in the entire world as a cell mate! You of all people know how I get around jerks like that."

"What did you do to get in the same cell as Uchiha Sasuke?" Haku asked absentmindedly as he scooped soup into a bowl for the blonde.

Naruto's grin returned to his face and his face lit up with excitement. "I am now the most famous jail breaker in all of Konoha," he said proudly. "And speaking of that, I don't want no one to know who I am."

Haku raised his eyebrows. "While in Demons you never had a problem telling people your accomplishments," he remarked. "What happened?"

The blonde bared his teeth. "I want to make some enemies, then have them cower at my feet when they discover how wonderful, stratigic, and powerful I am!"

Haku sweatdropped. 'Different actions, same reason.' "So what do I call you?"

"Why don't you call me Kyuubi? Y'know, my codename from Demons?" Naruto said eagerly.

Okay, time for some explinations. When we were younger, Naruto and I were in a gang that called themselves The Demons. It held kids from all over the four countries. We all had different names for each other that had to do with certian mythological creatures that matched our personalities in some way. Kyuubi was Naruto's because of his quick temper and the marks on his cheeks. Siren was mine because I was a deadly killer _and_ I could fool my prey. I hate my real name, because it reminds me of my parents. Eventually I was caught, however, and in fear of using my Demons name and getting the gang captured I once again became Haku.

'He really likes this no-name thing...a bit too much.' Haku thought dryly, but smiled at Naruto. "Alright. I'll talk to you later- I have a job to do."

Naruto picked up his tray, which now held a bowl of soup, a plate with some kind of beef on it, a bread roll, and a glass of water. "Okay. Bye, Haku!" He strolled down past the tables, looking for a place to sit, when he heard someone yelling.

"Hey! Hey, Kid! Blondie! Short blondie! Short blondie teenager! Kid! Over here!"

Naruto looked around for the owner of the voice, and saw a man with wild brown hair and red streaks down the sides of his face waving at him. Naruto walked quickly over to the table, and the man grinned at him. "You're the new kid, right? Sit down!"

"He barely looks fifteen," remarked a lanky eighteen-year-old who currently was leaning back in his chair, put his feet on the table, and his hands behind his head. His charcoal black hair was pulled back in a tiny ponytail, and he eyed Naruto with bored, half-lidded black eyes.

"I'm almost seventeen!" Naruto protested.

A man with strangely white eyes and long hair pulled back in an extremely low ponytail glared at him, as he took a bite of beef. "Whatever your age is, you're still younger than us," he informed Naruto.

"Neji, be polite!" Naruto sweatdropped as he studied this new person's black bowl cut and huge eyebrows. "He is probably frightened and afraid for his life!" The strange man said happily, giving Naruto a thumb's up.

"You have _huge_ eyebrows!" Naruto remarked, staring at them. "Are they alive?"

The wild man laughed. "Haha! Yeah, Lee, he's really scared! Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Will you stop calling me kid?!"

"Alright then, shorty!"

"Just because you're freakishly huge doesn't mean-"

"Freakishly huge?! You're a bit short for your age, midget!!"

"Will you two stop?" the bored person asked irritably. "Honestly, you two are such a pain in the ass. I'm Nara Shikamaru," he told Naruto. "The noisy one next to you is Inuzuka Kiba, the one with living eyebrows is Rock Lee, and that's Hyuuga Neji."

"What'd you get in for?" Neji questioned him.

'Dang, his eyes are just as blank as Sasuke's...' Naruto thought with a chill. "Robbery," he said outloud.

Kiba recovered from fights just as quickly as Naruto did, and demanded, "Wait a minute. What'd ya steal to get into a cell with _the_ Uchiha Sasuke? Gold? Diamonds? High-tech computer programs?"

"Whadya mean?" Naruto asked him, confused.

"Here they place you in cells determined by the severity of your crime," Lee told him. He seemed to have forgotten Naruto's joke about his eyebrows. "Like me. I'm in for scamming people. I'm in a cell with Neji, who printed conterfeit money. Kiba and Shikamaru are in the same cell because Shikamaru was a major computer hacker and Kiba was a jewelery thief."

"So, what'd ya steal?" Kiba repeated.

Naruto grinned. "A cup of ramen!" Then he began on his soup, starving.

The group went silent.

SLURP.

"A cup...of ramen." Shikamaru repeated, actually looking shocked.

"Yep!" Naruto beamed at him. "That was good soup, wasn't it? That beef looks good."

Silence.

BITE

CRUNCH

CRUNCH

CRUNCH

"The beef's pretty good too," he told them.

"You've gotta be joking!" Kiba yelled, pounding his hand on the table. "You're in the same cell as Uchiha because you stole noodles?! How can that measure up to his crime?! Unless it was the king's ramen, which it probably wasn't! Do you even know what he did?!"

"No. What did the bastard do?" Naruto stared at Kiba. "I have no clue!"

Silence once more filled the air, only to be broken by the gentle sound of Shikamaru banging his head on the table repeatedly.

BANG

"You mean you've never heard about the Uchiha massacre?"

BANG

"Nope. Hey, this roll is pretty good, too! You guys got a great chef!"

BANG

"Where were you four years ago?" Neji demanded to know.

BANG

Naruto thought hard. "Um...four years ago...I was thirteen...oh! I was working on the docks."

BANG

"Um, Shikamaru, you might want to stop," Lee told him nerviously.

The young man sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You give me a headache, Kid," he told Naruto dryly.

"And _that_'s what happens when you bang your head on the table!" Naruto announced in a tone like a show host's, waving his glass of water in the air. "See you next time on 'Stupid People and the Things They Do!'"

Neji sighed and also rubbed his temples. "How long will you be here? Five days? A week? A month?"

"Ten years."

Silence.

"You guys can get really quiet. Do you know that?" Naruto told them cheerfully. "Hey Neji, you gonna eat your soup?"

Neji's thoughts: He's already asking for food, and I barely know him. I can't believe I have to put up with ten more years of this.

Kiba's thoughts: He's in a cell with Uchiha, and he only stole a cup of ramen! I'm a way better thief than him! And I'm gonna have to spend ten more years with him?!

Shikamaru's thoughts: I ask for quiet. I beg for peace. What do I get? A loud, hyper blonde teenager. Unless he gets transferred, there's not gonna be peace around here for ten more years.

Lee's thoughts: Yes! Another person to spar with! Even if he does mock my eyebrows, I shall make him regret it! The next ten years will be wonderful!

Naruto's thoughts: This soup is _really_ good...


	4. The Difference of One Crime

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 4- The Difference of One Crime**

**AN- Hiya! How is everyone doing this -checks her clock- 7:47 pm? I'm doing ****quite fine, thanks for asking! Tomorrow my friend and I are gonna go to the ****new mall in Rancho Cucamonga (if you live anywhere in SoCal, you might have ****heard of the new open mall called Victoria Garden. It's supposed to be as good ****as ****Fashion Island. -boasting- See what we redneck 909-ers can do?!?), since I only ****live about two minutes away from it. YAY! I finally get to hang out with my friends!!! ****My life is not all on the computer!!!!! -deep breaths- Okay, anyway, it was nice****chatting with you all!**

**Have you ever noticed how much "tomorrow" feels like "yesterday"? Try it. ****Really. It's freaking me out, 'cause I don't know if I used the right word or not. ****(And kids, this is why you shouldn't go a week without M'nMs- It may be good for ****your health, but it's bad for your sanity.)**

_-----------_

_To each his sufferings: all are men,_

_Condemn'd alike to groan;_

_The tender for another's pain,_

_The unfeeling for his own._

- Ode

_**Stultus est qui stratum, non equum inspicit; stutissimus qui hominem aut **_

_**veste aut condicione aestimat** (The man who inspects the saddle blanket instead _

_of the horse is stupid; most stupid is the man who judges another man by his _

_clothes or his circumstances)_

-Seneca the Younger

------------

"I still can't believe that you're in a cell with Uchiha," Kiba told Naruto as he took a bite out of his bread roll. "I weaw, how ish it poshiwle-" he swallowed. "I mean, how is is possible that you of all people get in a cell with a mass murderer?"

"I don't know, they just- a _what??_" screeched Naruto. "He's a what?"

Haku leaned over Naruto's shoulder. "A killer, Kyuubi. Would you like my soup?"

The blonde immediately perked up at the thought of more food, and he forgot all about what Kiba had just said. "Yes!"

Shikamaru went pale. "Um...Kid, why is _Haku_ talking to you?" 'And why did he mysteriously pop out of nowhere?' he thought with apprehension.

Naruto just rolled his eyes. "He's my friend, duh. Hey, Haku! Meet my new friends. That's Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee."

"I'm getting the feeling that you will never cease to surprise us, Kid!" Lee chuckled in a strange, insane-like way, making Naruto back away slightly. "You stole only one cup of ramen and got arrested, ended up in Sasuke's cell, don't know what Sasuke even did to get into jail, lived on the streets, and now you're the friend of one of the most dangerous men in this prison! Amazing!"

"Hey, speaking of what Bastard did," Naruto turned to Haku. "Where was I when the news hit? Sounds like what he did was pretty big."

"We were planning on how to attack the Kamikazes to expand our territory." Haku reminded him.

"Oh yeah...that was when Kraken slipped on the banana I put on the floor and landed on his butt." laughed Naruto. "Good times..."

The other four inmates at the table just stared as Naruto had a normal conversation with one of the most deadly men in their prison, talking about everything _but_ the weather.

He talked to Haku like he was a normal person.

And talked.

And talked.

And laughed alot.

And talked.

"Well, I have to run," Haku told him brightly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kyuubi. Nice meeting you all," he said to the other four Konoha prisoners, smiling sweetly, before turning and walking away.

As soon as Haku was out of hearing range, Shikamaru leaned over to Naruto. "You _do_ know that Haku is a murderer, right? He's killed countless men, out of prison and in."

Naruto frowned at the lazy young man. "Yeah. So?"

"So? Don't you care?" Neji inquired, staring icily at the new inmate.

"What is this, the third degree? Spanish Inquisition of some sort?" demanded the blonde. "Haku's a good person. There are two different kinds of murders, you know. Haku's the second type."

Shikamaru sighed. "I beginning to wonder about your sanity, Kid..."

"Please, enlighten us," Neji said sarcastically. "Your wisdom must be so much greater than ours, when we have dealt with murderers, lived with murderers, talked with murderers. They're _all_ the _same_, dimwit. Of course, I'm sure that someone like you who has experience so much of life would know so much more than us."

Hey, it's me again. -smile- Just wanted to add in this part that Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee are acting stupid, and don't realize that Naruto had been in a gang. Ah, how the old bow to youth...Now, back to the story!

Naruto twitched slightly at Neji's last remark, but then glared at him and said in an irritated tone, "Do you want to hear the two kinds or not?"

Silence.

"Okay, here I go." The blonde leaned forward, folded his arms on the table, and took a deep breath. "The first kind of murder is killing those you know. People that you've met, talked to, interacted with. People that you know have likes and dislikes, dreams and goals, friends and family. People that you know are human beings, not just some person picked at random on a street by a sniper, or someone that you were hired to kill. The second kind, of course, is killing people that you don't know anything about. If you killed by the second way, then you havn't lied or betrayed a friend or family member.

"Those who kill in the first way- well, I see it as they must've had three reasons to do it. One, they were forced to do it, and then they're cowards for letting others die for their lives only; two, they did it on accident, and they would be plagued by guilt for just about forever unless they find some way for them to feel forgiven; and three..." His voice trailed off, and his eyes became stony and fierce. "Three, they did it on purpose. In this way, they are cold hearted bastards that don't deserve to live."

"And what if they didn't like the person they killed?" Kiba asked Naruto, clearly amused by the teenager's theories.

"The only time someone should kill is if it's a kill-or-be-killed situation." Naruto said stubbornly. He began to trace a pattern that had been carved into the table by some other prisoner- it was a spiral shape. He kept his eyes on the spiral, and twirled his fingers to the outside ring of the spiral, then back to the inside, over and over again.

"But what if it's a family member that you really hate?" a voice said behind them. Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee looked up in shock, Neji just glanced at the newcomer, and Naruto didn't look up at all.

The blonde coninued to stare at the table and trace the carving, unaware of the person that had asked the question. "If I had family, I wouldn't want to kill them," he muttered. "No matter how bad they were to me. I wouldn't have minded. I don't understand men that kill their wives, or parents that murder their kids, or kids that murder their parents, or brothers killing their sisters or any of that! There are kids on the street that would die for affection, for just one love-filled glance, or warm hug, or a soft pat on the head in congratulations. Women that sell their bodies for money, when all they would want is a man just to hold them all night long, just hold them, and keep them safe and protect them." Just then he realized who it was that had spoken, and lifted his head and spun around, glaring daggars. "You! What do you want?"

"Dinner's over," Sasuke pointed out. (He ignored Naruto's sarcastic remark of, "Good job- you can tell what time it is.") "And I want to close the cell door before the women come down for their dinner."

"Women?" Naruto questioned, then yelped as Sasuke grabbed his arm.

"Come on, I don't have time for this," the dark haired man was muttering, glancing nervously at the clocks on random walls. "If that door isn't locked by seven o'clock..."

"Bye guys! See you tomorrow! Hey, that hurts, bastard! Lemme go!"

"Shut up, idiot."

"Idiot?! You're one to talk, you asshole!"

"Little shit."

"Bastard!"

The four stared as the fuming blonde and the agitated Sasuke continued down the hall until they were out of sight.

"I don't know who to feel more sorry for," Kiba muttered. "The Kid or Sasuke?"

Lee chuckled. "Ah, this looks like a budding friendship to me!"

"I feel sorry for both of them," Shikamaru stated. "Sorry that the Kid has to deal with the King of Ice, and that Uchiha has to put up with the Kid's extreme hyperness."

"This boy will make prison life much more interesting, don't you think?" Neji stood up, holding his tray. "Uchiha's right- the women will be here soon. Kiba, will you take the Kid's tray? He forgot it in his rapid exit."

"Next time I ain't pickin' up after the brat!" Kiba complained. Spying a piece of leftover beef, Kiba used his old sleigh-of-the-hand tricks and slipped it into his shirt. 'Akamaru will like this,' he thought.

It was only moments later that the floodgates of hell were opened.

Men from the prison say that to this day they can still hear the shrieks and yells from the harpies themselves at seven o'clock.

For Naruto had not been informed that the Four Countries Maximum Security Prison was a co-ed prison.

And it was at seven o'clock that they had their dinner in the same dining hall as the men.

Reader, if you think the male prisoners are bad, just wait until you meet the female prisoners, or (as the men affectionately called them) the Harpies of Hell.

**-----------**

**AN- Okay, okay, I know this one was shorter, but I'm just spewing out chapters **

**and I just felt like stopping here rather than keeping it and writing a bazillion **

**more words. **


	5. Harpies of Hell

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 5- Harpies of Hell**

**AN- OMG!!! I have reviewers!!!! -laughs wildly and dances a tribal tribute around room- Hahahahahaha! I'm happy beyond all belief!! I toss beautiful red roses of love in each of your general directions! -chucks roses with extremely sharp thorns at them- I thank you all so dearly!!**

**Um...-cough cough- Ahem. Sorry about that. I'm just so happy that I got five reviews in one day. -beams with delight- Anyway, I'm glad you all like the story so far.**

**K-chan xoxo**- Remember, grasshopper; patience is a virtue. -bows, then breaks a wooden board with her head- Ow, ow, ow...

**averaye**- I try to update fast...I warn you, though, it might get slower after Christmas break. And I might change the summary...I just don't want it to make the story sound really cliched!

**B.U.G.I.M.S**- -backs away slowly- I'm sorry that I haven't written more...I'm trying, really, I am! Please don't go psychotic on me! And thank you for that compliment about my story! You make me blush! -blushes- See?

**TenshiKaitou**- I'm glad you think it's interesting! I'll try to keep it that way! -salutes-

**Smoking Panda**- Thank you! Bye the way, I love your user name! It's hilarious! (At least, to me it is. I have an odd sense of humor like that.)

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_Some tragic poet said that two women are worse than one. That's true._

- Plautus

_There are three intolerable things in life- cold coffee, lukewarm champagne, __and overexcited women._

- Orson Welles

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Sasuke had proceeded to drag Naruto out of the food hall, down the main cell hall, and into their cell without any cuts. He did, however, have numerous amounts of bruises from where the blonde had kicked him. In relatiation, Sasuke had hit right back. Unfortunately, he hit a little to hard, and now had an unconcious Naruto.

"Well, at least he stopped talking," he muttered as he carried his cellmate into the cell and dumped him on his cot. Sasuke then proceeded to close the cell door and whistled at a guard. "Hey, Akimichi, lock us up."

The overweight guard laughed and locked the cell door. "You almost missed my shift, Uchiha," he informed Sasuke. "And then it woulda been five minutes until Shino made his round. That means that _you_ would have been at the mercy of whatever female prison guard decides to help you, which might be none, since you turned them all down."

"Che."

The guard just sighed. "A prisoner, and they only have eyes for you. Go figure."

A voice came from the cell across from Sasuke's and Naruto's. "Chouji! Lock us up, wouldja?"

Chouji turned and grinned. "Hey, Shikamaru! You don't usually ask to be locked when the harpies come down."

Shikamaru just shrugged and began to shuffle through a trunk next to his cot. He looked calm on the outside, but he was frantically tossing papers and books on the ground. Kiba watched him, a mischievious grin on his face. "He borrowed something from Ino," the wild man told Chouji.

"Ha! Lemme guess- her prized Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that was signed by J.K. Rowling?" The guard

"Yep." Shikamaru said sullenly.

"And he lost it!" Kiba shook his head, laughing. "Ooh, Shika, I'd watch my neck if I were you!"

"It's not lost!"

Silence.

"It's just in a different place than where I left it, that's all." Shikamaru complained.

"May God have pity on your soul," Chouji told him, before turning and walking back down the hall.

Shikamaru had now come to the conclusion that he had totally emptied the trunk. Therefore, he must have missed it while going through the trunk. Thus determined, he began digging through the pile of junk that had once been in the trunk and was now scattered across the room.

Kiba just sadistically laughed harder. "Man, what I wouldn't do for some popcorn right now. Who needs to watch a violent, R-rated movie when you can have Ino in one of her worst tempers?"

Shikamaru gave up and sighed. "Bah. This is all so...troublesome. It's just a book."

TWEEEEEEEET

Kiba currently couldn't breathe, he was laughing so hard. Shikamaru just crossed himself andmuttered, "God help us, here they come."

TWEEEEEEEET

"What the hell?" Naruto sputtered, sitting up straight. "Sasuke, what's that noise? Sasuke?" He looked around, confused. 'Where is he?'

"It's the whistle for the women's prison doors to be opened." Naruto heard Sasuke say, although it was muffled quite a bit.

TWEEEEEEEEET

Naruto got up, walked across the cell (which wasn't that big), laid down on Sasuke's bed, and then looked under the bed, his head upside down. He instantly became inches away from coal-black eyes. "Sasuke...what are you doing?"

"Hiding." he stated, his breath warming Naruto's nose. "Would you mind not letting them know where I am?"

TWEEEEEEEET

At this precise moment, all the men (but poor, unsuspecting Naruto) began a countdown. For they all knew that after exactly five blows of the extremely high whistle (which wasdubbed Lady, both because it was used by the women prison guards and because it was as high as a female's shriek) their halls would be filled with the most terrifying things of all the earth. The things that are worse than being burned alive while shot in both legs, stabbed in both arms, and forced to drink Anti-freeze all at the same time.

And these horrid creatures, which we all fear in the darkest hour of the night might spring out from under our bed and devour our precious bishounen posters are...

5...

4...

3...

2...

"Hey, Sasuke, why are you counting?"

1...

TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!

_**"SASUKE-KUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

Yes.

Fangirls.

"AAAAAAAAHH!" Naruto screamed, as suddenly thousands of arms were shoved through the bars of their cell.

"Sasuke-kuuun!"

"I made chocolates for you!"

"Mine are better than hers! Don't take them from her, Sasuke-kun! She's a bitch!"

"What did you say, you slut?!?!"

"I knitted you a scarf, Sasuke-kun!"

"Will you go out with me, Sasuke-kun?"

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, you're sooooo hott!!!!"

"I don't care if you're a murderer, honest!"

"What the fuck, Sasuke, what happened to you?!"

"Yeah! You're blonde...and you have sweet, warm blue eyes..."

The fangirls stopped their shrieking and stared at the shocked Naruto. He quickly recovered, though, and smiled sheepishly at the girls, making sure to stay as far from the cell door as possible. Rubbing his head, he stuttered, "Oh, uh, heh heh, I'm Sasuke's new cellmate. Nice to meet you all."

Silence.

Naruto's thoughts: Hey, mabye they're gonna shut up...

"Aw, you're so cute!"

Naruto's thoughts: -sigh- Nope.

"You're so adorable!"

"What's your name, cutie?"

"He can't be any older than fifteen..."

"Holy shit! What is up with everyone's warped sense of age? I'm almost seventeen!!" He interrupted angrily,

"Ooh, you know what that means, girls?"

"He's close to our age!"

"And you know what that means?"

"He's up for grabs!"

Squeals that could pierce a dog's ears were made by half of the crowd.

"Hey Hinata-chan, he looks like your type, eh?"

"Aw, leave her alone, she's blushing!"

"Hey, hey Kid! Where's Sasuke-kun?!" a harsh, less feminine voice interrupted.

"Yeah, I didn't come here to see some snot-nosed brat!"

Naruto snarled and jumped up towards the bars. "You wanna say that again, bitch?"

TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! CLEAR OUT, ALL Y'ALL!! MOVE YOUR SORRY ASSES, GIRLIES, LET'S GO! DINNERTIME, MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT!!! YOU CAN HARRASS LOVERBOY IN THERE TOMORROW!!!!!!" While Naruto flinched at the sound of that voice, the girls just groaned.

"Fine, Ino-chan."

"We're coming, we're coming."

"Bye, Kid!"

"See you later!"

Naruto's thoughts: Snot nosed...yeah, I'll show _her_ snot nosed...I'll punch her there...and then kick her in the shin...and then stab her there...and if that doesn't work then I'll do _this_ and...

Sasuke's thoughts: What the fuck, they thought he was cute?

And that was Naruto's first encounter with the Harpies of Hell, the Fangirl from the Fiery Lake, the Suck-up Spawns of Satan. -smile- I have a whole list of their names. I've been gathering them from the inmates since I came here.


	6. Meet Ino and Kakashi

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 6- Naruto meet Ino, and Shikamaru meets the Warden**

**AN- I can't really think of anything to say right now. Go figure. Me, who ****has ****an unnatural talent for being a chatterbox, has nothing to say. Nothing to 'add to ****comment'. Nothing to tell. Nothing to describe. Nada. Wow, for not having anything ****to say I sure am writing a lot...**

**A small note to you all, I corrected the past chapters b/c one of my friends commented ****that I didn't describe very well, and the story was going a bit fast-paced. So if I am ****going to fast at all, just yell at me, and I'll stop!**

**sarahchan**- YES! I know exactly what you mean, and I agree. My friends are always making fun of me because I'm not really girly for a girl, but I would rather be butch than a fangirl any day.

**average**- Well, I wasn't going to put Hinata in jail, but when you brought it up in your last review I just _had_ to put her in there. -plays evil music on an old record player-

**amekaze**- heh heh...I was going for a different writing style. I _really_ didn't want this story to end up Mary Sue/Gary Stue-ish.

**PrvertedGoofness**- -pats on the back- Don't worry, they won't get your posters. They're too busy harassing Sasuke in jail, remember?

**silverlook**- wouldn't you like to know? You'll find out later...And I'm trying to get all the characters into the story, whether they're in jail or guards. Average-chan inspired my putting Hinata in jail, though.

**Vicadin-Tea**- UGH? I've never heard of that before...DARNED IT!!! I was trying to get away from any other plot lines created!!! -headdesk-

**YoungSasuke**- -wide grin- Heh, glad you like it so much!

**Chisama**- Uber...now _there_ is a word that I haven't heard in who knows how long! And it's a good word, too...

**Smoking Panda**- I'll try to keep it coming, 'kay?

**Fatlazikat**- Haha, you have got to be the wierdest person I've met on ! (Weird for me is a good thing, just so you know) Mabye you should give bessy the number to the jail so she can kick those fangirl's arses, eh? Heh, then mabye I'm smart because I did a little kamikaze stunt when I was five!

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_Many books today suggest that the mass of women lead lives of noisy desperation._

- Peter S. Prescot

_Feminism is the radical concept that women are people._

- Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichler

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About half an hour after the women had been pushed out of the hall and into the cafeteria, Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief and turned the page of his 'Outdoorsman' magazine. "Thank God. She didn't remember."

"Remember what, Shikamaru?" Naruto questioned from across the hall. He was currently sitting cross-legged in front of the cell door, looking at his hand of cards. "Kiba, got any fours?"

Kiba groaned, took a card out of his own hand, and slipped it under his cell door, cell #126. It skimmed across the smooth hall and went into Naruto's cell. "You're like a genius at this game, Kid!" Kiba complained. "It's not fair!"

Naruto picked the card up deftly and stuck his tongue out at Kiba, grinning wickidly. "Haha, you really suck!" he taunted. "I'm the best at Go Fish! The ultimate champion!"

"It's a child's game," Sasuke interrupted his bright-eyed cellmate's bragging. "Anyone can be skilled at it. It's not a challenge in any way."

Naruto glared at Sasuke, who was sitting on his cot and drawing something on a rather large sketch pad. "Who asked you?" he growled. "Jeez, you're such a soul-sapper! Can't let anyone have fun, can you?"

"Oi, _Shikamaaaaaruuuu_..." a feminine voice called out.

Shikamaru suddenly felt a dark cloud over come him. He gulped and looked up from his magazine, sweating. "Um, heh heh, Ino...I was just, ah, gonna see if I could, um, find you."

Kiba chortled. "_Sure_ you were."

Naruto placed his new pair of fours on the floor next to his other pairs and eyed the woman. Ino had long, pale gold hair that was pulled up in a high ponytail and dark blue eyes that were delicately outlined with kohl eyeliner. She wore the Konoha headband wrapped around her waist and a Konoha guard uniform, which seemed to cling to her curves, especially when she put her hands on her hips and leaned to one side, as she was doing now. "Hey Shikamaru, who's the chick?"

Ino turned to glare at Naruto. "Chick? I'm not a _bird_, you sexist moron. And what are you doing in Sasuke-kun's cell?"

"He's my new cellmate," Sasuke said abruptly, giving her a look that could freeze blood.

The female guard's glare quickly turned into a sickly sweet smile. "Sasuke-kun! I didn't know you were in there; you were so quiet."

"I'm not sexist!" Naruto snapped at her, not noticing that Sasuke had stood up for him, even if it was in a strange, non-existent way. "Where I come from we call all women chicks! It's either that or whore. I didn't want to be rude, but I guess I shoulda called you that instead, considering the way you're just as mushy over Bastard over there as all the others."

"Unless you want a beating, I suggest you not say that again!" Ino growled at him, her eyes flashing. "Sasuke is not a bastard!"

Silence. 'Dang, if she's more upset about that than me calling her a whore, she must be psyco!' Naruto mused as he looked back down at his hand of cards, his anger once again quickly forgotten.

Ino heaved a sigh and turned back. "Anyway, Shika-kun. Darling. Where's the book?"

"Book? What book?"

"Don't put on that lazy-ass act with me, Nara. My autographed Order of the Phoenix! Where is it?" Then her voice dropped to an even colder level. "You didn't..._lose_ it, did you, Shikamaru?"

"N-no, of course not...it's, um...it's...right here!" Shikamaru spied the book on Kiba's side of the room and held it up triumphantly. "See? Right here!"

"Good. For a minute there I thought you ha- Shikamaru." Her voice became deadly.

Shikamaru sweatdropped. "Er, what's wrong, Ino?"

"Why...are there..._bite_ marks....on...my..._BOOK_?!?!" she thundered, homicidal glints in her eyes. Shikamaru flipped it around quickly and turned pale. The entire right top corner of the book was chewed off.

"I-Ino, it wasn't...it was Kiba's dog! It chewed the edge off!"

"Number 4479, come with me," Ino said softly. "We're going to go see the warden about this."

"The war...the wardens?!" Shikamaru went even more pale, if that was possible. "Ino, please, no! Not him! Please, I'll pay you back!"

She quickly unlocked the door and slammed it open. "4479, start moving!" she barked in a loud, drill-sergeant manner.

"Haha, see you later, Shikamaru," Kiba told him, laughing.

"Number 4502, you too! And bring your mutt!"

Kiba groaned. "Aw, Akamaru, they found us out!" A small, white dog whined and came out from under his owner's cot. Kiba picked him up and put the dog between his orange prison uniform and white undershirt.

Ino paused in her rage to raise one eyebrow. "What in heaven's name are you doing?"

"He likes being able to see everyone!" Kiba protested.

"Fine, fine. Just move it!"

"You brought a _dog_ to _prison_?" Naruto stared at Kiba.

"He's like family to me! I couldn't just leave him at home!"

Ino began to take out her stick threateningly. "Inuzuka, I don't care what you do with that mangy thing- just move it!"

"Jeez, we're coming, we're coming." Kiba sulked as he walked out of the cell. "Sorry Kid, we're gonna have to finish our game later."

Naruto set down his hand of cards and stretched, grinning. "Aw, it's okay. I can beat your ass anytime!"

"Why you little cocky..." Kiba muttered.

"I SAID MOVE IT, YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOTS!" Ino yelled.

Shikamaru and Kiba cringed, while Akamaru whimpered, and they were marched out into the hall by Ino. After they were gone, Naruto shook his head and sighed. "Wow. This is one crazy prison, I'll give them that much."

"Well, we try," a lazy voice told him. Looking up, he saw a tall guard with spiky silver hair. He wore a strange mask, and his Konoha headband was tilted sideways over his left eye. "Number 4521, I presume?"

"Yep!" Naruto saluted to the guard, grinning widely. "Lemme guess- I'm gonna get extra roll calls, aren't I?"

The guard checked off something on a clipboard he was holding. "Of course. We wouldn't want you leaving so soon, now would we? I'm Hatake Kakashi, you can call me Kakashi. I'll be the one checking up on you."

"By any chance can you tell me when you'll be stopping by?" Naruto ventured. It was best to know when the guards would make their rounds.

"That's the fun part! I get to come around whenever I like, so you won't be able to plan anything on when I'll be around to check on you." Kakashi's one visible eye curved up in a smile. "Your record is two days, correct?"

"Heh heh, I'm the best!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up. His grin grew, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. "I could get outta here in three to five days...if it wasn't for that lousy judge." he bragged. Remembering the judge's decree, however, Naruto plopped back down on his cot, growling. "Stupid old fart."

"Well, your guardian did give me something to give to you if you stay in here for five days," Kakashi informed Naruto, amused by the teenager's antics.

At this, Naruto once more became animated. "N-nani? What is it? What is it?"

"I can't tell you. It'll be a surprise." Kakashi stopped smiling for a moment and peered into the cell. "Ah, Sasuke. You're being so quiet tonight. Not even a hello to your old friend Kakashi?"

"Che." 'What are they talking about?' Sasuke wondered curiously, concentrating on not looking like he was interested in what they were talking about. 'What is he the best at? What record of his is two days?'

"I'll leave you be, since you're deep in thought," Kakashi said to Sasuke, the smile back on his face. "I'll see you later, Na-"

"No names!" Naruto yelled, pointing his finger at a startled Kakashi dramatically. "I know that you know my name, but I don't want anyone else knowing it!" At this, Sasuke perked up considerably. His blonde cellmate was turning out to be quite the secret-keeper.

"And why not?" asked Kakashi, confused and curious at the same time.

"I want everyone to be surprised at my wonderful and magnificent skills!" Naruto said happily. "I want to see the looks on everyone's faces when they find out what a legend I am!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'What a show off,' he thought. 'He can't be that great. After what I overheard from dinner, all he did was steal a cup of ramen. Nothing glorious about that.'

Kakashi was silent for a moment. "You're one strange kid," he told Naruto. "But if it's what you want, then it'll be what you'll get. So, what do you want me to call you?"

"Call me whatever you want," Naruto told him. "But the ones people seem to be sticking on me are Kid, and then there was my old nickname, Kyuubi."

'Kyuubi...isn't that a Demon name?' "Okay then, Kid," Kakashi said outloud. "I'll be seeing you around. Try to contain your homicidal reflexes and not kill him, Sasuke, alright? Good!" He took out a small orange book, then began to stroll down the hall, whistling a cheerful tune.


	7. The Gift With a Warning

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 7- The Gift With a Warning**

**AN- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! -blows on a whistle, throws confetti in the air, and dances around in a circle- I wish you all the best of luck for 2005! Remember the good times from 2004- from _Passion of the Christ_ to Janet Jackson's boobie to Scott Peterson going to jail to Ashley Simpson not being able to lip sing! **

**mystik**- I'm glad you love it! I'm trying to keep the updates fast.

**iamyell0w**- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

**Smoking Panda**- Don't worry, I won't forget...I may be slow, but I'll never forget!

**eyes0nme19**- I'll do my best! -salutes-

**Yaoilover S**- Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough.

**Vicadin-Tea**- Okay...my small head is being overloaded with details of UGH, so I'll just erase out everything about it...thank you! I will!

**shinjowy**- Yeah, I will, but they'll be coming in later in the story.

**Nikki**- Even _I_ haven't figured that out yet...-sweatdrop- It was just a random idea of mine, and I have no clue as to how to use it...BUT I WILL! OH YES, I WILL, AND VICTORY SHALL BE MINE!!!!!

**cat**- I'm pleased that you find it so hysterically funny...even if I am fearing for your sanity...

**Lil Washu1**- YAY! Cookies! -munches- Ooh, they're chocolate chip...I _love_ chocolate...((And I'm a she, thank God. I wouldn't be able to stand being a guy...-shudder))

**Iceheart19**- Haha, you're not going to believe how Hinata go in...-cracking up herself- I got the idea while watching reruns of _Cops_, to give you a hint...

**Kyuubi-kun**- You're the first person to comment on the quotes...I'm glad someone other than myself reads them...

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_... "friend" covers degrees of affection ranging from that which emerges __from __constant (and often mindless) proximity to that which emerges from the deepest __consonances of thought and character._

- Mary Cantwell

_Do not judge men by mere appearances; for the light laughter that bubbles on the lips often mantles over the depths of sadness..._

- E.H. Chapin

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Five Days Later...

Sasuke was once again in his usual position after dinner, leaning against the wall and sketching something in his giant art pad.

His blonde cell mate scratched a diagonal line through four small lines on the wall next to his cot. "HA! Five days!" Naruto crowed triumphantly. "Now I get my gift!" He bounced up and down on his cot excitedly. "I wonder what it is?"

"Probably a teddy bear," Kiba jeered from across the hall. "After all, every baby needs his toy, right?"

"Shut up, dog boy!" Naruto yelled back. "You're just jealous that I'm getting something and _you're_ not! Why did they even let you keep him? Last I heard animals aren't allowed in jail."

Akamaru barked shrilly at Naruto, and Kiba nodded. "That's right, Akamaru! We have a special bond that can't be broken!" He chuckled. "Plus, the women's warden really likes dogs."

Shikamaru groaned. "I swear, I would have rather Ino beat me than us having to visit our warden. He is such a freak!"

Naruto shrugged. "As long as I don't have to see him. My gift, my gift, I get a gift..." he hummed under his breath, forgetting all about the strange wardens. He had been perfectly behaved for five days- of course, it's not like he had a choice. He wasn't allowed outside with the other prisoners, in the guard's fear that he would discover a way to escape yet again, so he spent most of his time going stir-crazy in his cell. But he had also used the "Detention", as the guards called it, to his advantage. He listened carefully all the time, and when the five days were up he knew exactly who did what shifts at what time, by both the sounds of their loud footsteps in the silent hall and by watching them pass by his cell. Kakashi stopped by every now-and-then to talk to Naruto, make sure he was in his cell, and to tell him that at the end of a week he would be able to go outside with the other prisoners. This was just as great a treat to Naruto as the gift, because in this way he could see other prisoners, and not be surrounded by guards like at the mealtimes.

"Eh, Kid, I see that you've made it to the fifth day," a bored voice announced. "Very good."

Naruto jumped up from off his bed and latched his hands onto the bars of the cell door. "The gift, Kakashi, the gift!" he demanded.

Kakashi laughed. "Just one second." He unlocked the cell door and handed Naruto a thick, novel-sized notebook. "Here you go."

Naruto grabbed the notebook and gasped, his eyes going wide. "They...he...how did...THANK YOU!" he cried, and, before Kakashi could shut the cell door, leapt out and gave him a big hug. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!"

"Pretty strange gift, if you ask me," Kiba muttered, and Akamaru barked in agreement. "What's so great about a book?"

"It's not any book," Naruto told him fiercely, before turning and looking back at Kakashi. "Did he give you any-"

"Oh yeah, the pens." Kakashi handed Naruto a pack of strange-looking pens. "Some crazy pens, you have there. Don't know why he wanted to give you those kinds." He smiled, amused, at Naruto. "You're really happy for just getting a notebook, you know that?"

"Oh, I have my reasons," the blonde muttered, before turning and sitting cross legged on his cot, clutching the notebook and pens to his chest. He opened it up and shuffled through the pages, as well as loose papers and torn newspaper clips. "It's all here!" he said gleefully. "Yes, yes, _yes_! I can't believe they let him give this to me!" Immediately he took out a large article and began to read it.

Kakashi shrugged. "Hey, whatever suits you." He closed the door and locked it. "Have a nice night, Naruto. You too, Sasuke. Don't let anyone molest you, okay?" he joked, before once again taking out his little book and reading it while walking down the hall, giggling slightly at different parts.

"Okay, yeah, nice night, no molesters, got it," Naruto muttered back, waving a hand vaguely in Kakashi's direction without looking up from the article. Suddenly he went pale. "_Fuck_," he whispered, his eyes widening.

Shikamaru glanced over at the blonde. "Naruto, you okay? What's with that article you're reading?"

"He's coming here. Oh, _shit_," Naruto swore again. "Shit, shit, shit! No fuckin' way! How the hell did _he_ get caught? And Kanku- oh my fuckin' God, not him to!" He began to shake, and his eyes were wide open and fearful. Sasuke looked up and over at him briefly, wondering what his cellmate's problem was. "All of them...the whole damn fuckin' gang!" Naruto yelled, before shoving his goggles over his eyes, standing up, and kicking his cot. "They did this on purpose, those bastards!" He kicked the cot over and over, before swinging around and punching the wall, hard.

"Woah, woah, calm down!" Kiba said, alarmed. "What's your problem?" 'Damn, that Sasuke's cold,' Kiba thought. 'He hasn't even said a word.'

Naruto clutched his head in his hands, staggered around for a moment, before collapsing on the cot. "They're coming. To prison, they're all coming!"

"Who's coming?" Sasuke suddenly said, his voice icy. "Stop repeating yourself and talk normally."

"Kamikazes." Sasuke lifted his head, a bit startled. Naruto had just spoken in a voice so stripped of emotion, so empty, so...dead- so unlike the loud teenager. "Our- the Demon's enemy gang. They all got caught in a fight, and they're being sent here. Iruka put this in here to tell me, to warn me...not like it's gonna do me any good." Naruto laughed harshly.

Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sasuke remained silent. Apparently something was going on in their fellow inmate's mind that did not want to be spoken, even if it was stretching their curiosity about this strange boy.

Later that night

Long after lights out, Sasuke woke up. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw an extremely dim, but visible beam of light. Opening his eyes even more, he saw Naruto lying on his stomach, scribbling furiously in his notebook. Unable to see where the light was coming from, Sasuke continued to watch his cell mate, silently. Sasuke's dark, artist eyes could make out the graceful curves of Naruto's cheekbones, his slender chin, the gentle slope of his forehead, the Egyptian-like curve of his eyes. He could also see the worry etched into those same blue eyes, and how Naruto's normally golden hued skin was pale in the dull glow cast by the unknown light.

'What is it that's troubling his so much?' Sasuke wondered. 'What is he afraid of, and why is he afraid?' He searched his memory for anything that had to do with the Kamikazes. 'What can I remember...they've been involved in lots of drug deals...killed people...they have lots of gang rivalries...they've harassed and raped people...apparently the Kid was in some gang. Mabye that's it.

'Wait, why am I even thinking about that idiot? He probably messed around with the wrong people, and now he's afraid they're gonna pay him back for whatever thing he did.' Sasuke turned over, so that he was facing the wall. 'I gotta get back to sleep.' Just then, he heard Naruto singing something, very softly, under his breath.

"I walk a lonely road/ The only one that I have ever known/ Don't know where it goes/ But it's home to me, and I walk alone.

I walk this empty street/ on the boulevard of broken dreams/ Where the city sleeps/ And I'm the only one, and I walk alone.

I walk alone, I walk alone/ I walk alone, and I walk alone.

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me/ My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating/ Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me/ Too late, I walk alone..." His clear, crystalline voice trailed off, and he once more became silent. Sasuke heard the scribbling stop for a moment, and Naruto sniffed. Turning around again, Sasuke watched in slight alarm as Naruto wiped his eyes. Whimpering, Naruto closed his notebook with a shaky hand (now that Sasuke noticed it, his entire body was shaking), shoved it under his cot, then turned towards the wall. He curled up, putting his knees to his chest, and Sasuke heard him muttering, "God damned it, they're gonna do it again. Haku'll try to stop them, but they're gonna do it again. They said they would. They never go back on their word. Fuck what the judge said, fuck what Iruka said. I'm getting out of here before they get here. They're gonna do it again..."

Sasuke found himself standing up, walking over to the other side of the cell, then sitting down on Naruto's cot. The blonde stiffened, then hastily wiped at his eyes again. Sasuke tried to put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, but the blonde flinched. He hesitated, then put his hand on his cell mate's shoulder, this time more firmly. "Idiot," he said softly. "No one can do anything while I'm in the same cell as you. So shut up and get some sleep."

Naruto stopped shaking. The dark-eyed man felt Naruto relax a little, but he was still very tense. Ignoring the flitting thought that he might regret it later, Sasuke reached over, grabbed Naruto's chin, and forced Naruto to look at him. Surprised, pain-filled cerulean blue eyes ringed with red from crying stared into deep onyx ones that held some unrecognizable emotion. "Listen to me. No one will hurt you when I'm around, okay?" Sasuke told him in a harsh whisper. "So relax already."

Naruto nodded slightly, still staring at Sasuke's eyes. 'What is that?' he thought distantly. 'That emotion...the first I've seen from him. It's not anger, or hate, or pity...I like the way it looks. It's a good emotion, whatever it is.' Then Naruto suddenly realized, 'He said that no one will hurt me. He'll protect me from them.' At this thought the blonde smiled widely; not a grin of happiness or joy, but a sweet smile that seemed to light up his face even in the dark, make his eyes sparkle like they usually would.

'He looks like an angel,' thought Sasuke. He had not expected Naruto to smile at him. Hit him, maybe, yes, but smile? Suddenly he was well aware of the short distance between him and the angelic Naruto. Blushing and thanking God for the darkness, he quickly let go of Naruto's chin and stood up. "Just...get some sleep," he murmured, before lying down on his cot and facing the wall. A few minutes later he turned to glance at Naruto. The blonde was lying peacefully stretched out on the cot, facing Sasuke. The gentle smile was still on his face, and he looked even more like a heavenly being while sleeping. He turned around all the way and watched Naruto for awhile, before slowly drifting off into sleep.

Sasuke never noticed that a small smile had crept its way onto his own face.


	8. The Dream and The Plot Thickens

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 8- The "Dream" and The Plot Thickens**

**AN- Well, tomorrow I go back to school. -sulks- So, that means that I won't be ****updating so fast. And just another little tidbit so you guys will know I'm not ignoring ****you or anything; my parents are divorced, and I live w/ my dad half of the week and ****every other weekend. I don't have a computer over there, so chapters will most likely b****e coming in on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other weekend. I'm so sorry!!! If ****only I have another computer... -begins her evil plot to get two computers-**

**Assassin of the Shadows**- -hugs to death- It's reviewers like you that motivate me to continue writing. Thank you for your support!!!

**TenshiKitsune**- I'm glad you can't remember any other story like this one...that means it's original!! -cheers- Yay for non-stereotypes!

**YoungSasuke**- Oh yeah! -evil grin- Knife fights, bloody halls, Westside v. Eastside (or Leaf and Mist v. Sand and Sound, really)

**averaye**- You're welcome! Yes, the plot is finally taking place! Kind of. Sorta. It'll get here soon enough. And yes, you are my official inspiration! -bows-

**Smoking Panda**- yep.It's a Kawaii Moment! (Instead of Kodak Moment, get it? Get it?! HAHA!

-cough cough- Er, sorry about that. I get a little carried away...)

**someone**- Haha, I loved your review! The way you described the story, I wanted to add, "Tune in next time, on As the World Turns." Great, now I'm writing a soap opera! -headdesk-

**Akaene**- I do my best. By the way, cool name! How'dja think it up?

**Iceheart19**- The gift was a notebook. You'll find out what it is later (haha, I'm so full of secrets!

-laughs at herself-)

**Adulia**- Thank you! And you better update yourself, you hear? I can tell that your story has soooo much potential for every possible plot line! I can't wait to find out what happens next!

**potpourrigrl**- The Demons gang is the gang that Naruto and Haku used to be in; Haku before he was put in prison, Naruto before he went into Iruka's custody. Their rival gang is the Kamikazes. And yep, that's pretty much their gang, along with a couple of other Sands and our beloved (not) Sound.

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_Even God cannot change the past_.

-Agathon

_Don't try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night_.

- Philip K. Dick

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"C'mon, ladies, up and at 'em!" A guard roared. "Get your lazy ass outa that bed, blondie! Nara, you too!"

Naruto opened his eyes, sat up in his cot, and yawned widely. Stretching his arms, he turned to look at the already-awake Sasuke. "Good morning!" he said brightly. "I got some great sleep last night!"

Sasuke turned to grab his toothbrush, attempting to ignore the faint flush he felt creeping up onto his cheeks. "Hn."

"Yeah, I dreamt an angel came to me!"

"Jeez, Kid, it's not even six in the morning and you're already talking!" Kiba groaned from across the aisle, scratching his head. "So, you had a funny dream, eh?"

"Yep!" Naruto beamed. "And the angel was sooooo cool looking! It had-"

Kiba cut him off. "Don't tell us about it. If you wanna tell someone, tell Neji at breakfast. He's into those freaky dream-interpretation things. He says it has to do with destiny or fate. One of those two. Mabye both. Shikamaru, get up already."

"AAH!" Shikamaru yelped, suddenly wide awake, and Naruto peered into their cell curiously. He couldn't see the lazy inmate from where he was. "Kiba, keep your damn dog on your side of the cell! Akamaru, down! OFF! Get off me!"

Kiba laughed. "Aw, but he likes you!"

"Well I don't like him, okay? Get down! No, no licking! Stop it already!"

"Fine," Kiba sighed. "Akamaru..."

The white dog hopped into view, its tail wagging.

Naruto put his orange uniform shirt on over his black one, the one he had worn when he came here. He was the only convict in the Prison that had any other clothes other than the white regulation t-shirt and uniform shirt and pants. "C'mon, Sasuke, hurry up," he said impatiently. "I wanna talk to Neji!"

Sasuke sighed. 'He thought that was a dream? Well, I guess it's a good thing...' He forced himself to scowl at Naruto. "Just wait already. Breakfast isn't until seven."

At Breakfast

"...and then he told me that he would protect me!" Naruto said triumphantly. "And he was so cool!"

"What did he look like?" Neji asked him. The blonde's dream actually held his interest, after what Lee had told him that Shino told Lee that he overheard Naruto freaking out about something about a gang.

Naruto thought for a moment, his face scrunched up in concentration. He took a bite of a slice of apple, chewed on it for awhile, then swallowed it and shrugged, blushing slightly, at his fellow inmate. "I don't remember," he confessed. "All I remember was that he was wearing black clothes, and he had black hair, and really big, pure black wings. Not evil demon wings, but feathery wings. His skin was really pale; not pasty, just pale. Like a vampire's. But there was this really good...what do they call it...aura, that's it! There was a comforting aura around him, that calmed me down."

"Quite the dark angel you have there," Lee said, deep in thought. "He sounds almost like a guardian angel."

"There is probably someone in the future that will protect you. Someone that you would never expect- that's why you can't remember his face. The black represents fear, a fear that you will no longer be afraid of because of him." Neji said in a toneless voice. "These are very good pancakes, aren't they?"

"Fear, huh?" Naruto said aloud. "Heh, I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Liar. You looked like death warmed over when you read that article."

"Shut up, bastard!" Naruto snapped, glaring at his cell mate. "Why are you even sitting at our table?"

"Because I don't feel like sitting at another table, that's why," Sasuke said smoothly.

"Why you...hey, HEY HAKU!"

Kiba winced and covered his ears. "Damn, Kid! Can you try not to be so loud?"

Haku walked over to Naruto, smiling softly. "Good morning, Kyuubi. Did you receive your reward last night?"

"Yeah, yeah I did. Hey, Haku, listen- the Kamikazes are coming here!"

Haku's smile and the warm look in his eyes vanished, and a cold ruthlessness took their place. "Are you positive?" he questioned Naruto in a deadly manner. "If they are, who knows what they'll d- you're not afraid that they'll tell everyone, do you?"

"Of course I am!" Naruto moaned. "And everyone here has one; I checked! This'll turn out to be some war if they find out!"

"Wait...did you say, _you checked?_" The room temperature seemed to drop down a few degrees, and Haku glared at Naruto. "Baka. Idiot, _moron_, what if it got out of hand, huh? Then what? After last time, do you know what might happen?"

"What the _hell_ are you two talking about?" Kiba growled and smacked his hand on the table to get their attention, interrupting their conversation. "What does everyone have, and why the hell aren't you telling us?"

Haku stopped in his place, then slowly turned and looked at Kiba. He began to shake slightly, but continued to glare at Haku. "Kyuubi," Haku said softly, his eyes not leaving Kiba's, "I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. And don't worry." He turned to look once more at Naruto, but this time his cold look was once more replaced by warm eyes and an apologetic smile. "Nothing will happen to you as long as I am near. Just concentrate. Try to control...your temper, alright?"

Naruto sulked and glared at Haku. "It's hard," he whined.

Haku smiled and ruffled the teenager's golden hair. "I know, just try, okay?"

"Fine."

"Good. I'll see you later, then." Haku left, and the five other people at the table stared at Naruto.

"Kid, what was that conversation about? What do we have?" Lee demanded.

Naruto was silent for a moment, and he looked down.

The inmates waited for a response.

"I...I..."

Waiting.

"I have to go to the bathroom!"

**AN- Okay, okay, I know this one was really really really short, but I really wanted to **

**get it up before I went to my dad's house! I'll make the next one longer, I promise! **

**Heh heh, the plot thickens with the secrets! They'll all be coming out in a big bang, **

**I promise. Just a couple more chapters , alright? **


	9. Secrets Yet to be Uncovered

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 9- Secrets Yet to be Uncovered**

**AN- Okay, here's the dealio, peeps- I've been grounded for my grades. ****(Which sucks ****major ass) My mom finally let me back on me comp (thank GOD!!!!), so I'll be ****updating faster than it took for this chappy to get out. I missed you all so much! -cries- **

**But that's okay! Let the party begin! Drinks all around! (Think that new Aquafina commercial "Drink! Drink!", or Sparkling Cider. I hate alcohol, other than the ****smell of wine.)**

**GAH! I'm so sorry to all my reviewers, but there are so many, so I can't answer all ****of your reviews. To the peeps to whom I don't review, thank you!!! **

**DragonMaiden08, Ranma Higurashi, Sora Jr, starry096, crimson nightmare, quaebah24, sassy-kun, CitrusPeach, tyranimo, Vicadin-Tea, xxSNOWxxDROPxx, fatlazicat, Iceheart19, Kyuubi-kun, Anime-Boi-Crazy, potpourrigrl, Kaworu Knight, Jiro, Akari-chan, averaye, disama, Smoking Panda, BlueStar123, someone**

**YoungSasuke-** Haha, I like hooking people! I do love to go fishing...I can even pinch a worm in half with my thumbnail and put half on the hook for bait, and then later use the other half! (A little gross, I know...but I like fishing!) Hm, does that mean I have to slice Naruto in half? I hope not...he is, after all, the star of this fic...

**emu- **Aw, that'd be awesome!!! -grins widely- I like to draw, but I don't really have any talent.

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_Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight._

- Phyllis Diller

_Every human being on this earth is born with a tragedy, and it isn't original sin...He has to lose everything that is lovely and fight for a new loveliness of his own making, and it's a tragedy. A lot of people don't have the courage to do it._

_-_ Helen Hayes

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A few days had gone by, and no matter how much prying Naruto's fellow inmates did the blonde adamantly refused to tell them what he and Haku were talking about, and each time re-directed the conversation.

"So, Kid, what was that all about?"

"Hey look, a fight!"

---

"What does everyone here have?"

"Hey look, a kite!"

--

"Tell me already!"

"Hey look, a flashlight!"

---

"So what's going on with you and that gang?"

"Hey, you broke the quiet of the night!"

--

And so it continued, until the inmates grew tired of asking and Naruto ran out of things that rhymed with 'ight'. Also, Naruto finally was able to go outside for the first time in weeks.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Ah! Fresh air!" he sighed, basking in the bright sunlight. "Finally!"

"It's not that great," Kiba complained, surveying the exercise yard with a critical eye.

"It is when you're stuck in a tiny cell for who knows how long!" the blonde snapped at him.

"Don't you tell me what to do-" Kiba was cut short, and he blushed slightly.

"What? What is it?" Naruto demanded.

Shikamaru opened one eye and looked over. "Oh. It's Hinata."

"Hinata?" The teenager looked over his shoulder at a group of women in the middle of the yard** ((AN: The men and women go outdoor at the same time))** The girl that Shikamaru was so pointedly looking at was fragile and petite. She had purplish hair that was cut short in an angular direction, and long bangs were left to frame her face. Glancing over at Kiba and the rest of the men with the same pale-lilac eyes as Neji, she blushed slightly also and waved timidly at Kiba. The other women in her group saw her waving, and they cooed in the ancient way passed down by the first women on earth loud enough for the first women on earth to hear. "Oooooooooh, Hinataaaaa!"

"Neji's cousin."

"You have a cousin here, Neji?" Naruto burst out. "How cool! I wanna meet her!"

The pale-eyed man glared at Naruto. "You will not on any accounts ask her how she got into jail," he lectured Naruto. "It is a very delicate thing to her."

"Well? How'd she get in?" the blonde questioned him irritably. "At least tell me now so my curiosity doesn't take over!"

"She was a drug dealer."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

"It's not funny. She's finally clean, and out of that stage of her life. That was not her destiny."

Naruto pictured the young woman in a heavy black coat, lots of silver and bling-bling, and a black bandana tied around her head, then burst out laughing again. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"What're you laughin' at, chump?" a curt, feminine voice inquired dryly. "I don't see anythin' funny."

Looking over, Naruto saw that the person speaking had walked over from Hinata's group. She was slightly taller and muscular than the other women, and walked with a self-assured air. Chocolate-y brown hair was pulled back in two loose buns, and almond shaped-and-colored eyes narrowed as she inspected Naruto from head to foot. "Wh-who you callin' a chump?!" Naruto shouted, glaring at the woman.

The young woman glanced back at her group and called out, "Sure, he's got pretty eyes and nice skin, but that's 'bout it. Hey, Neji," she nodded to the man. "He with you?"

"Unfortunatelly, yes," Neji replied in the same manner as she. "Is there any other reason you came over here other than to harass our newest inmate?"

"I was just having some fun. Th' name's Tenten," she told the blonde. "Expert illegal weapons dealer. You need it, I got it. Back to the news. You know that Uzumaki dude?"

"You mean the man that is supposed to be the greatest escape artist in the history of Konoha?" Lee asked her, his eyes wide.

"Yeah, that one. Well, they finally caught up with him, about three or four weeks ago!" Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a folded newspaper clipping. "Ino gave this to me yesterday."

Naruto went slightly pale and coughed nervously, but nobody noticed, as they all gathered around Tenten to read the article.

"Aw, look! You got it wet!" Kiba complained. "His picture is all smudged!"

Naruto leaned forward slightly. There, attached to the clipping, was a picture of him being dragged off the streets in handcuffs; but his entire head was smudged by water.

"Damn Ino! It's all over the place! He belonged to smudge gang, and resided in smudge city with his foster father, smudge...and he's gonna be taken to smudge prison!" Shikamaru sighed in frustration. "This doesn't help any about finding out who he is."

"Um...um...um..." Naruto whipped his head around frantically, trying to find a way to change the subject. "Hey Kiba! Where's the Uchiha-bastard?"

"Er..." The dog man looked around for a moment. Akamaru, who was still on his head, barked. "Oh. He's over there. I wonder what he's looking at?"

Naruto glanced over to where Sasuke was (which was currently against one of the giant concrete walls), then did a double check. "What the fuck?" he hissed suddenly, and left so quickly Kiba thought that he had disappeared. "What the hell are you doing?" Naruto snarled at Sasuke, grabbing his notebook and articles out of Sasuke's hands. "These are MINE!"

The Uchiha looked up at him, a bit irritable. "It was just lying around, and I-"

"It was _not_ just lying around, you bastard. It was under my fuckin' bed for a fuckin' reason!" Naruto hurriedly pulled his goggles over his eyes, and even though Sasuke couldn't see the blonde's eyes he could feel anger radiating off of him. Kneeling down, Naruto snatched up newspaper articles that had fallen out. "Don't you ever fuckin' touch this again, bastard!"

"I was just curious. What's the big deal?"

By this time the two of them had gained a crowd. Shikamaru walked up, hesitantly, and placed a hand on Naruto's arm. "Hey, Kid, this isn't a smart thing to do-"

"Who gives a fuck?!" Naruto shouted. "I don't care if he killed a thousand people, if I catch him looking at my stuff again I'll fuckin' kill _him_!" He pointed an accusing finger at his cellmate. "You hear me, Uchiha? So you keep your murdering ass away from my notebook, and keep your God-damned nose out of my business!"

Sasuke bristled as Naruto called him, to his face, a murderer. "You want to say that again, asswipe?" he said in a low, deadly voice.

"You heard me the first time!" Naruto clutched his notebook to his chest and glared at Sasuke with even more intensity. "Stay the fuck away from me and my personal stuff!"

Sasuke began to step forward menacingly when Kakashi sauntered over to them. "There isn't a problem here, is there?" he questioned them.

"I was just leaving," Naruto hissed. He spat on the ground in front of Sasuke's feet, then turned and walked away. Sasuke watched him go and finally plop down beneath a big tree in the center of the field.

Kakashi also watched him go, then grinned. "Good! Stay out of trouble, Sasuke." He walked away.

Kiba scratched his head. "Um, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but what was that all about?"

"His notebook is filled with newspaper articles and blank pages," Sasuke told him emotionlessly. "Here." He handed a newspaper clipping to Kiba.

Kiba scanned the article, then began to read it aloud. " 'The mystery of the Third Street Massacre is yet to be revealed. On the fifteenth of May forty-five children and ten adults were found slaughtered in the halls and playgrounds of the Third Street Grace Orphanage. Only one child was discovered alive, huddling in a small broom closet on the second floor. This five year old boy, name unknown, disappeared soon after the bodies were discovered. Police are searching for the boy, and are requesting any knowledge of this massacre that the public might hold. "This disgusts me," Chief of Police Ebisu tells us. "It really does. And I'm going to catch this murderer if it's the last thing I do. Whoever could kill like this deserves to die, and I won't let him get away with this.' "

"The Third Street Massacre..." Lee said slowly. "I remember hearing about that when I was much younger. It was all over the news."

"I would have read more, but he saw me," Sasuke told them. "Another thing I don't understand is why all those pages seem to be blank."

"That must be it," Neji stated. "They _seem_ to be blank."

"Whatever it is, the Kid's really freakin' out over it all," Shikamaru said to no one in particular. "So we better be careful."

'And he looked scared,' Sasuke thought suddenly, realizing something. 'He didn't want me to know, and the fact I may know scared him. But why would it scare him?' He looked over to the blonde, watching him shuffle through his papers nervously. When he found a certian one, Sasuke saw the blonde sigh with relief and clutch it to his chest, before shoving it back into the thick notebook.

After a moment of silence, Shikamaruvoiced what they all were thinking.

"What is he hiding from us, and why?"


	10. Some Secrets Revealed

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 10- The Notebook**

**AN- Yeah, I'm still not grounded! -cheers- Hey, I volunteered at this old people's place last Sat. That specializes in dementia and memory loss. Anyway, this little cute old lady walked up to me, and said with a totally serious voice, "I think I've decided. I'm going to throw it to the bottom of the sea." I could barely keep from laughing. Me: Really? Are you sure? Her: -still serious- Well, I've thought long and hard, and I'm gonna throw it to the bottom of the sea.**

**HAHAHAHAHAHA! I love those old peeps! **

**To all my reviewers that I did not answer: Ruby Love, Little Fox Kit, Lady of Gryffindor, potpourrigrl, Kyuubi-kun, averaye**

**emu- I can't see the link!!! cries Can you email it to me? I'm Stank you forever if you do!!!! (Stank you is my way of saying thank you. ;; Just so you know I wasn't saying "shank you" or sumthing like that...)**

**KhaosFlamez- Haven't quite decided...I think maybe a little of one or the other, but we'll see.b**

**Anime-Boi-Crazy- Sorry, you're gonna have to linger between life and the afterlife for awhile then...answers won't come for a couple more chapters.**

**Yaoilover S- I tried not to make it too predictable...-sweatdrop- I'm glad there's mystery and not total predictability.**

**CitrusPeach- I almost died. Almost. Being on Yearbook Staff saved my life. -thinks- Hey, I should make a pin like that...haha, I'd bring in more suckers to torture! Don't ever say that Yearbook is easy...especially if you're an editor...you have to be both a sadist and a masochist...**

**xxSNOWxxDROPxx- Yeah...I couldn't have the prisoners seeing his picture or what prison they took him to! It would ruin everything...**

**Smoking Panda- I'm writing more right now! **

**Vibribi the Crack Bunny- ...-bows head in defeat- GAH! It _was_ predictable...I tried so hard...yeah, I know that I'm _way_ off on the prison system. I looked back at it, and I was like, "WTF, what kind of a prison am I describing?!?!?!?" And yeah, Naruto should be a lot buffer, but he doesn't need to be for what he did in the gang; it would have been a dead give-away for him. And I have my reasons why Sasuke is in there. Very strange reasons, but reasons.**

**TenshiKaitou- Oh, don't worry about it! -bows- I'm just honored to have someone that actually apologizes for not reviewing. It's nice!**

**quaebah- haha, yeah, those cliffhangers really get you at the end! -evil grin-**

------

_I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it _

_means. What I want and what I fear._

_- _Joan Didion

_I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose._

- Ludwig van Beethoven

-------

Naruto ignored every other inhabitant of the prison for the rest of the day, snarling at everyone who tried to talk to him. He refused his dinner, and at the first chance he got went straight to his cell. At every chance he got, he glared furiously at Sasuke, who was beginning to feel a bit guilty about the whole ordeal.

His dark-haired cellmate was now determined to read that notebook, to see what the secret was about the seemingly cheerful blonde. So, late at night, after the blonde had falled into a deep sleep, Sasuke snuck quietly over to the other side of the cell, gently pulled the notebook from its new hiding spot (above the dresser, very secretive), and opened it.

A soft glow met his curious eyes, and his mouth hung open in shock. So this is why the pages looked blank in the daylight, and why his cellmate had asked for a special pen from Kakashi...

There, covering pages and pages as he flipped through the notebook, was glow-in-the-dark writing. So much of it filled the pages that Sasuke could barely concentrate on the writing. He ignored the writing and turned to the newspaper clippings.

"_Massacre on Third Street Raises Questions"_

"_Third Street Orphan Gone Missing"_

"_Three Boys, Found Dead in Alley"_

"_Suspected Gang Murders"_

"_Five People, Slaughtered in Hotel"_

"_Bizarre Murders Remain Unsolved"_

"_Gang Caught in Action"_

"_Boy, Fifteen, Sentenced to Death Penalty"_

"_Woman, Twenty, Beaten to Death in a Bar"_

"_Uzumaki Strikes Again"_

Over and over, the headlines repeated the same thing- one or a great amount of people had been killed in strange places, with mysterious clues popping up. All remained unsolved, and all had been taken over by the GAEO, a secretive organization paid by the government and was rumored to be working in concordance with the CIA.

The blonde had highlighted some parts of the articles, but Sasuke could make no sense out of them. Setting the articles aside, he began to read parts of the notebook.

_November 28-_

_Chimera's gettin' along with everyone great! Him 'n Vamp are good friends! But I hope they stay safe. Those damn Kamps are getting closer and closer to us everyday. I'm afraid for everyone's safety. We had Faerie hack into the main database of the so-called "Guards", and we couldn't believe what they were gonna do! Siren says we need to send someone in, but discreetly. The problem is, we don't even know where it is!_

_April 13-_

_Siren is totally beating himself up over all this. Faerie is trying to be nice, but it doesn't help. I need to kill, to see someone else's blood spill for what they've done. I'm too weak to fight them now- I've trained too long to stop now for revenge. But I _will_ have my revenge. I'll never let them get away with this. I should have been more careful...I don't care what Siren says, this was all my fault. I caused this. But _they_ are the ones that did it._

_I'll never forgive those bastards._

_April 17-_

_Siren's gone._

He flipped to the front of the book and read again. This time the writing was in a childish, clumsy scrawl

_January 23,_

_Those funy people came again today. I want too now who they are. They asked Sister Mary about me again- I can tell becuz she keps looking over at me. I wonder why she looks so nervus._

_Saiku tok my ball! Sister Suzane made him giv it bak, thogh. She's so nice! Not like all thos meenies from the other orfanages. Sister Claire is giving me riting lessons. She says I'm lerning real fast!_

Sasuke closed the notebook and sighed. On the whole, he had learned very little about the boy's past. The articles the blonde kept also had nothing in common with each other or himself, other than they were all taken over by the GAEO. About to put the notebook back where he had found it, Sasuke saw a scrap of paper floating to the ground. He picked it up, and studied it curiously.

_They all connect. Look for the sign._

At the bottom of the page was a careful sketch of an hourglass. Grabbing the articles, Sasuke stared at the pictures, scrutinizing the pages. Then he saw one. Then another, and another. They were small, but they were there.

Tagged on the bloody wall of the orphanage.

Scratched into the wood bar stool.

Carved into a young boy's right arm.

An almost unintelligible twist of metal beams.

Slice marks in a leather seat.

Sketched on a napkin.

Shaped with twigs.

'But what does this have to do with _him_?' Sasuke thought, frustrated. 'Sure, they're all linked, but what does that have to do with anything?' Flipping through the articles, he saw something that didn't look like a newspaper clipping, but a print-out from a computer, crumpled with crease lines all over it. Parts of it were circled.

_Shubaka-sama,_

_It's almost time. We have slowly been attempting to wipe them out, but the Demons continue to interfere. We have finally created an idea to put them all in one place, where we can effectively kill them all without raising anyone's suspicions. It will be simple enough, and easy enough to fool them all. Even the workers will have no idea that they, too, are being targeted. We must not be found out. The Demons must never receive word about this prison. _

_GAEO has been researching the DNA of the beings in question, and we are beginning to consider the idea of not putting them out of their miserable existence, but mind-wiping them and creating an army out of them. With their skills, we could rule over any land that we desired._

_Please respond immediately. We await your reply._

Prison?!?!

Sasuke was suddenly stricken with fear. Was it possible that someone knew his secret? That it all had been a set-up? That they knew he didn't do it? But no...he shook his head and scoffed at the idea of it all. He had never seen any other inmates do anything strange.

For Sasuke has a secret.

He can do things others can't.

As a child, it was widely accepted in his family that his gift was just passed down from generation to generation, and that it was normal. For it was known, at least in their clan, that all Uchihas could read minds and create hallucinations.

Of course, his brother had used his powers for a more evil turn, and for some reason the Uchiha Prodigy, as they had called him, killed their entire family, then left their guards with the images that Sasuke (then a nine-year-old) had murdered them. It seemed that no one even remembered his brother's existence, as they told him he was the only son of the patriarch of the Uchiha clan.

He had been eleven when he was first in prison.

Of course, he really didn't do it...but what did they know? And what could he tell them? 'Oh, my brother put hallucinations on you. Oh yeah, it's quite normal in my family. Yeah, I can do it too. Do you want me to read _your_ mind?'

Thank you, but no. He didn't want to be treated like a animal in the zoo, continually being observed and tested. So instead he had become quiet, sullen, and apathetic, and lived his life being feared by one and all. After all, it's not like he had anyone visiting him, sending him magazines, or even anyone waiting for him on the outside world. He didn't care.

And that was about the time he began to draw.

At first, it was just simple sketches. But then they became deeper, and full of emotion. It seemed to be his only way to channel his energy. So he sketched pictures of his hated brother, scratching his pencil deep into the paper. With each picture, after each day, his brother went from the slightly avoidable man that would go to the police and explain patiently that it was his fault and to let his innocent brother out of jail; to a cold-eyed murderer, shading around his upraised hands to represent the blood of innocents, a broken crucific in one bloodied hand and a family picture with everyone but himself and Sasuke torn out in the other.

When he was transported to the Max. Prison he had found more strange people to sketch. But it wasn't until Naruto arrived did he begin to long for the moment that he would have his pencil and paper in hand. Little did the blonde know that when he was laughing at Shikamaru from across the hall, Sasuke would quickly capture his soft grin and bright eyes, with his golden hair tousled and dust mites floating around like golden dust. He even captured the deep longing and hidden pain in the loud teenager's eyes when he had thought no one was looking.

Sasuke quietly and quickly put the notebook, articles, and print out back where he had found them, his heart racing. To think someone might know his secret! But still, it _was_ only the blonde...and he hadn't turned out to be extremely bright.

After all, how smart could the kid be?


	11. No One Deserves to be Forgotten

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 11- No One Deserves to be Forgotten**

**AN- OMG I HATE FINALS-groans- Stupid Spanish class...my teacher gave ****250 questions! Can you believe that-dies and goes to heaven, before being thrown back to earth. Is resurrected.- So yeah, I _do_ have another excuse. Heh heh... -(procrastinator).**

**Also, how many of you have seen the musical _Les Miserables_? I read the book, and am currently listening to the soundtrack. I LOVE it! I doubt anyone's seen it, but you should-cough- Okay, I'll go back to anime.**

**YAY! there was another earthquake! I'm beginning to love earthquakes...About a month ago there was a pretty big one. It was awesome!**

**Thank you my reviewers: Goddes-of-Sol, fatlazicat, crimson nightmare, SuzuSparrow, Kittfox, sasuke-4ever, emu, YoungSasuke, Little Fox Kit, kaira, Shadow Eclipse, potpourrigrl, TenshiKaitou, sylver rain, Kyuubi-kun, quaebah24, Yaoilover S, sassy-kun, KhaosFlamez, KunochiDreamer**

**CitrusPeach- ...-eyebrow twitches- I hate people that give a bad name to Yearbook...one of my friends actually had the audacity to say that yearbook was just "playing around with computers" during deadline week, _in front_ of the rest of the staffers, the Advisor, and the Senior Editor. I swear, that room went as silent as a tomb and was filled with murderous intent towards that girl. (I'm the Senior Editor of the Elementary Yearbook _and_ the Associate Editor of the Junior and Senior High School Yearbook. Such a pain...)**

**Anime-Boi-Crazy- HAHAHA! I LOVE TORTURING PEOPLE LIKE THIS! I mean...-cough cough- er, sorry for the long wait...-attempts to hide evil snickers-**

**Ruby Love- Naruto wrote both the secretive journal entries and the childish ones. They're just from different time periods. (He doesn't keep track of years . )**

**Ivy Adrena- I'm honored that you chose my fic out of so many AU fics to read-bows- Thank you! **

**-**

_Out here in the fields_

_I fought for my meals_

_I get my back into my living_

_I don't need to fight_

_To prove that I'm right_

_I don't need to be forgiven..._

_- _"Teenage Wasteland"_, by The Who_

_-_

In the morning, Naruto seemed to have totally forgotten his previous anger against his fellow cellmates. ("That Kid must have a horrible memory," Kiba remarked) Getting ready, he was just as noisy and wild, splashing water all over everyone else at the sinks. At breakfast, he begged the others for extra food. He acted quite normal throughout the rest of the day.

That is, until the afternoon.

During the exercise time in the yard, Naruto was arm-wrestling Kiba while Shikamaru stared at the clouds, Neji watched silently, Sasuke drew, and Haku lounged on a low tree branch. All of the sudden, Naruto's arm went limp, and Kiba slammed it against the ground.

"Ouch!" Naruto yelped, rubbing his hand while looking around anxiously. " What'd you do that for?"

"Why'd you give up?" Kiba demanded irritably. "And why are you looking so paranoid?"

"I thought..." the blonde's mouth fell open, and his cerulean eyes widened. "H-hey, Haku! Look! It's Chimera and Faerie!"

Haku sat up straight, and stared in the direction Naruto was pointing. "What the- you're right!"

"Hey! Hey Fae! Chimera!" Naruto jumped up and ran over to a solomn-looking teenager with dirty brown hair and a nervous woman with cotton-candy pink hair that was obviously dyed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored his cellmate's outburst.

The woman spotted Naruto running towards them and tugged on the short boy's shirt, saying something to him. The boy didn't seem to hear, because he pulled out of his comrade's grip and ran towards Naruto. "NII-CHAN!" he yelled, tackling Naruto and wrapping his arms around the blonde's waist. He buried his face in the blonde's orange shirt and a stream of muffled words began to emit from his mouth.

Naruto laughed and hugged the boy back before ruffling the boy's hair. "Chimera! I can't believe this!"

Shikamaru groaned. "What, another kid? Is this prison turning into a daycare center or something?"

"Don't be fooled." Shikamaru looked up at his guard friend, Chouji.The prison guard was currently munching on a bag of chips. "That 'kid' is a part of one of the toughest gangs in Konoha. At least, it _was_ the toughest gang in Konoha."

"What do you mean, _was_?" Sasuke spoke suddenly, startling those around him. The Uchiha rarely spoke at all, and especially so when he was outside.

Chouji sighed, his face growing solomn. "Well, you see, two nights ago the-"

-

"-strange this is that you're at the same prison as me!" cheered Naruto, slinging an arm around the woman's neck. "Hey Fae, why're you so glum? Me 'n Siren are here!"

During all this, Haku had been carefully watching Faerie and Chimera, noticing Faerie's forced smile and Chimera's suppressed tears. "How are the rest of the Demons doing?"

Faerie's fake smile vanished completely, and her lip began to quiver. Chimera, noticing this, decided to be a man and say what she obviously couldn't. "We _are_ the rest of the Demons," he said quietly, voice shaking.

"What do you mean?" A grin stayed on Naruto's face, but it looked more confused than anything. "What about Biakko, and Medusa, and Dragon?"

"The-they're all-"

-

"Dead!" Lee exclaimed, eyes wide. "All of them?"

"All of them but the four that are standing over there."

"But-"

-

"-how?" Naruto maneaged to ask, his voice unbelieving. "We had everything to stay alive, every resource, every possible protection!"

"They ambushed us," Faerie whispered, wrapping her arms around her body. Haku immediately placed his arms around her in a comforting way. "They attacked us outside Ichiraku. We were offguard. It was horrible. Chimera saved my life."

-

"It was a total slaughter," Chouji added. "Blood all over the place. Some were sprayed with so many bullets the bodies were unrecognizable. Others had stab wounds, slice marks, stuff like that. On some of them, their heads were even chopped off. The police found those two shaking in the alley, covered in blood and shaking like they had just seen Lucifer himself."

Lee's eyes widened in horror. "Those poor people."

"They probably deserve it," Kiba muttered, but after seeing Sasuke's cold, cruel glare in his direction as well as well-deserved glares from the others in his group, he shut his mouth.

"No one deserves to be slaughtered like _that_." Neji stated. Even _he_ was appalled by the idea of how a 40-odd person gang could be so easily killed, and why they would kill like that.

-

"The Demons were massacred? No way!" Tenten exclaimed, incredulously.

Ino nodded, leaning against a tree. They were across the yard from the men, but they could clearly see the two newcomers, Haku, and the Kid. "Yes way. And those two were the only ones that survived it. The police can't figure out how they escaped. The exits had been blocked, and they had been surrounded."

Hinata bit her lip, and her eyes watered. "Th-that's so sad..." she stuttered. "I-I used to s-s-sell to th-them somet-t-times...such n-nice

people, even if th-they were g-gangbangers."

By this time it had circulated thorughout the entire yard that the Demons had been annialated, and that the four people in the center of the yard were the only ones left.

The women's hearts ached as they saw the new boy wail and clutch as tight as he could to the Kid. Haku cradled the pink-haired girl, and both of them had silent tears streaming down their faces. All four were so close they were touching shoulders.

Sasuke noticed that Naruto was shaking, and was tightly holding the boy, his knuckled turning white. The blonde's teeth were clenched in a grimace of pain and grief. Chimera looked up at Naruto's face, then gently pulled Naruto's goggles over the blonde's eyes.

Naruto seemed to have snapped out of a trance, because he straightened and wiped at his cheeks roughly, as if trying to smear the scars right off his face. Turning around the yard, the inmates could feel his anger on them, even it they couldn't see his eyes through the flashing black tint. "What're you staring at?" he screamed. "Well?"

The inmates all looked in other directions, not knowing what to say. Sasuke, however, continued to look at Naruto, his gaze unwavering. Noticing this, Naruto's lips curled up in a snarl. Faerie wiped away her tears and tugged on Naruto's jacket. "Kyuubi, please," she said, her voice cracking. "Calm down. _Please_ calm down."

Naruto pulled out of her grip, shaking his head, and disappeared into the thickest part of the forested yard he could find. Faerie and Chimera looked like they were going to go after him, but Haku held them back, whispering something to them hurridly. Sasuke, however, followed the blonde.

The dark haired man followed the speeding blonde silently and slowly. Finally, he saw the boy in a small clearing, pounding a huge tree trunk. Splinters of wood flying through the air, Naruto punched, whirled, then kicked. Punch, whirl, kick. Punch, punch, whirl, kick.

"God-"

Punch

"-damn-"

Punch

"-motherfuckin'-"

Whirl

"-Kamis!"

Kick

"I'll fuckin'-"

Punch

"-kill-"

Punch

"-every single-"

Whirl

"-God-damned one of them!"

Kick.

Sasuke was slightly suprised at the force that Naruto was beating the stump. Only slightly. He had never expected so much power to come from such a sleek, agile teenager.

He was even more suprised (but of course, he didn't show it) when Naruto spun around and hissed, "What the _fuck_ do you want, bastard?"

Instead, the stoic man just stood there, lounging against a live tree. To anyone that would just come upon the two, it could have been an example of the lean, shadowy panther and the fiery, bristling fox. The thing that unnerved Sasuke the most was the fact that he couldn't see the blonde's crystalline eyes. He could tell what someone was thinking by their eyes, and not being able to see them made him nervous. "Why do you wear that thing?" he wanted to know, ignoring Naruto's earlier question.

"None of your damn business!"

"No need to get angry at me."

"Then fuck off!"

"No."

"What the hell is your problem?"

"You."

"Then why won't you leave me the fuck alone?" Quicker than Sasuke could follow, the blonde was right next to him, a tanned hand gripping the front of the older man's uniform tightly. With Naruto's face tilted up at him, the sun didn't glare so harshly against the glass; and for a moment Sasuke thought that he could see a glint of red.

"Because right now, you don't need to be alone. You need a friend."

At this, Naruto's grip went slack, and his teeth unclenched. But in a moment he was back, advancing on his cellmate. Forcing Sasuke to slouch, he pulled his cellmate to his eye level. The two were only inches apart, their noses almost touching. "You're making fun of me. Stop it."

"No, I'm not."

"You're not my friend."

"Who says? I probably know more about you than anyone else here."

Naruto's eyebrows went up, and Sasuke knew that he had screwed up. 'Shit, now he'll find out about me reading his journal.'

To Sasuke's surprise (he'd been getting surprised a lot lately by the blonde) the teen relaxed his grip altogether and stepped back. Naruto walked over to his side and sat down abruptly on the ground, cross-legged.

"They shouldn't have died." the blonde said softly after a long silence. "I wasn't strong enough. Again. I couldn't help."

Sasuke shrugged. "You were in jail. How could you have helped?"

"I could have escaped."

"Escaped?" the dark haired man raised one eyebrow at Naruto. "No one's escaped from this prison. Ever."

"I could have."

"Sure."

"You know, Kid..."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe we can make a memorial for your friends. So that they won't be forgotten."

"...where?"

"Here."

Naruto looked around. The three stumps that he had been beating on were now torn and indented, but the clearing had a surreal aura to it. "It'd be nice. They'd like that. All the Demons?"

Sasuke looked up at the sky. "Everyone that you want to put on it. After all, it'll be by you."

"Fae 'n Chim would like that."

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Why are you being so nice?"

"I'm not being nice."

"Then why did you ask me about that memorial thing?"

"Because no one deserves to be forgotten."

_To All Our Beloved Friends: Y__ou Were More Than Our Friends. You Were Our Family. May You Rest In a Peace You Couldn't Experience on This Earth._

_And to Our Dear Vamp (Konohamaru), We Pray For Your Forgiveness For Not Being Able to Protect You When You Needed us the Most._

_-_

_Vampire, Medusa, Komodo Dragon, Harpy, Biakko, Sphinx, Basilisk, Phoenix, Cerberus, Griffin, Nereid, Anubis, Bakemono, Hoji, Kumo, Hydra, Centaur, Kraken, Cyclops, Kami, __Echidna, Roc, Nymph, Imp, Banshee, Selkie, Werewolf, Gargoyle, Harpy, Dryad, Ghost, Hippogryff, Kitsune, Goblin, Manticore, Naga, Titan, Minotaur, Pegasus, Satyr, Kudarung_

_-_


	12. Meet the Kamikazes

**Title- Story of my Life**

**Chapter 12- Meet the Kamikazes**

**AN- Thank you Vibribi for bringing this up! Okay y'all, gangbangers is also a term for being in or apart of a gang (ie, gangbangin', gangbanger, exc). It call also be used in the way that means they all fuck up the same person, but I didn't use it in that sense. -heart-**

**Also, Chimera is Inari, for those of you who are wondering. And thank you for telling me about the double Harpies! (Let's just say one died earlier, and the second one had the name passed down to her or somethin' of the sort)**

**Thank You, My Reivewers!**

**Ivy Adrena- Originally I was going to put names of the characters into the gang, but they didn't really have first names. So don't hurt your brain cells. -pats on head- Go take some Advil. You must have some headache...**

**-**

_Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear._

-Mark Twain

_There was a definite process by which one made people into friends, and it involved talking to them and listening to them for hours at a time._

- Rebecca West

-

Sakura and Inari (They had refused their Demon codenames. "I don't anything else to remind me of them," the pink haired woman had told Naruto. He still couldn't realize why someone would want to turn their back on fallen comrades, but he didn't say a word) fit in well in the prison.

"This is a prison?" Inari had gaped, staring at the huge exorcize yard. "You gotta be shittin' me! Don't no FBI or CIA come 'round here?"

Kiba grinned and just slapped him on the back. "We don't know, and no one's complaining! Glad you like the place."

Sakura seemed to fit in extremely well with the female population, as she joined Mesmerizing, Obsidian-haired, Ravishing, Onyx-eyed Sasuke, dedicated to worshiping the Uchiha's Supreme Handsomeness. (Mooning over, Obsessing, Rioting, and Overcrowding Sasuke is what the men said that it stood for. They called it MORON for short.)

Naruto acted the same way around his cellmate as he had before he had found out about his gangmates's deaths. Shikamaru, Neji, and Haku, however, saw that Sasuke was a bit softer towards the hyperactive blonde than he had been before. Of course, around anyone else he seemed the same. But Shikamaru had seen how Sasuke watched Naruto in their cell, when the blonde was laughing at something stupid that Kiba said. Haku had noticed how when the Uchiha insulted the teenager (as he did often), the sharp tone of his voice had lessened, as if the names were now more like terms of endearment. Neji watched how Sasuke's shoulders relaxed more with Naruto around, and how his hands weren't clenched as tight. There were even moments when all three could have sworn they saw the cold-hearted killer crack a tiny smile.

Naruto seemed to disappear more often during the outdoor exercise times. When he did leave, Sasuke made sure to note which direction he had headed in, before waiting about five minutes and also leaving (but much quieter). On many occasions he found the blonde sitting cross legged in front of, on top of, or leaning against the roughly-hewed, wooden Demons memorial(they couldn't get any stone, so the idiot blonde had hacked away something resembling a horizontal memorial block, then Siren carved the names in); before him were multiple marks in the ground, and sticks arranged in strange forms. On one, Sasuke heard him muttering, "...and then, I'll put one right here, to make sure it falls, and then I'll have to connect that with this...no, no, this with _that_...yeah, this and that, that's it..."

And on multiple occasions he also never gave away the fact that he was watching Naruto. Instead, he silently took out his sketchbook and pencil. It was only during these times, and when Naruto slept, could he safely scrutinize every detail of Naruto's being.

Well, almost every detail.

And then, the dreaded day came, when the Kamikazes arrived at the prison.

The familiar jeers at new prisoners were not to be heard; you could hear every step the gangers took. Naruto seemed to tense up the closer the walking got to his and Sasuke's cell. Sasuke, although watching Naruto out of the corner of his eye, was slightly interested in this group. Only slightly.

First impressions really do last, you know.

The first that walked by was a young man, about 20, with fiery red hair cropped short to his scalp. He wasn't very tall, but he had an opposing, intimidating aura around him. He suddenly stopped infront of their cell, and turned his head to stare at Sasuke. The redhead had the kanji symbol for love tattooed over his left eyebrow, right above piercing green eyes that were outlined deeply with black lines, making them stand out even more. His eyes were purely...cold. Emotionless. The perfect eyes of a murderer. Sasuke just glared back. The redhead, who seemed not to care about Sasuke's glaring at him, slowly moved his gaze to Naruto, who met his eyes evenly. Sasuke watched Naruto carefully.

Not that he cared about the idiot or anything.

But apparently he had nothing to worry about. The look on the blonde's face was a look he had never seen on that innocent face before. Angry, bright sapphire eyes flashed with hate, and his lip raised slightly in a snarl. He continued the stare down with the eyeliner-man until a guard prodded the redheaded Kamikaze. He sharply turned his gaze and continued forward. Next came a girl with four, bushy, sandy-blonde ponytails, then a man with strange face paint and headband. Each looked into the cell and straight into Naruto's eyes, both shivering slightly before moving forward. None but those three looked at Naruto, even though they all clearly knew who he was.

"I'm glad it was them and not Sound," Naruto muttered under his breath after the Kamikazes had passed.

Sasuke made no comment. He felt none was needed.

It was at breakfast the next day when it all started.

Haku, Sakura, Inari, and Naruto all met up with each other at an empty Konoha table. They all looked over at the Kamikazes (both Sand and Sound were gathered together at a table between the two countries), who looked back. One of them, who was apparently one of the leaders, nodded at the four, a smirk on his face. The man was tall and lean, and had long, purplish-black hair. His eyes were purple slits, outlined in maroon, giving him a snake-like appearance.

The Demons looked at Naruto, who grimly nodded. "Let's do this." As if that was the cue, Haku took out a strange mask and placed it over his face. Sakura tied back her hair with a pure white ribbon. Inari tugged a striped beanie over his messy hair. Naruto pulled his dark-tinted goggles over his eyes. Turning, they all walked towards the Kamikazis, their faces showing no emotion.

At the Kamikaze table, the fiery redhead stood up from his leaning position against a column. The man with the painted face and the girl with ponytails got up quickly. The snake man slowly stretched his arms above his head, before murmering something to a silver-haired man wearing glasses standing beside him. The other man smiled coldly and muttered something back. The snake-man let out a strange laugh, then began to walk towards the Demons. The glasses-man and the Sand Kamikazes followed him, the redhead walking the same pace as the snake-man.

They met in the center of the hall; five facing four, the strong versus the swift.

Then began the formalities.

"Siren."

"Orochimaru."

"Faerie."

"Kabuto."

"Gaara."

"..."

"Backstabber."

"Kyuubi."

"Wings."

"Fangirl."

"Clown."

"Shorty."

"Worm-boy."

"Snake-bastard."

"Gaara."

"..."

"Chimera."

"Temari."

"Fox-boy."

"Transvestite."

"Siren."

"Kabuto."

"Kitten-brat."

"Snake-bastard."

"Kankuro."

"Siren."

"Gaara."

"..."

"Temari."

"Siren."

"Orochimaru."

"Fly-girl."

"Kyuubi."

"Temari."

"Nerdman."

"Brat."

"Kankuro."

"Faerie."

"Sandflea."

"..."

Okay, so maybe they weren't formalities. Most of them were insulting names. But it was formalities that everyone greeted one another in a (slightly) proper manner.

"I realize that we all have no choice in where we are," Haku began, his voice cheerful but his face and other emotions hidden behind the mask.

"Even though you got yourselves in here on purpose," Chimera muttered.

Kankuro smirked at the boy whom he had called 'brat'. "And took some riffraff with us on the way in. Killed two birds with one stone."

"Maybe more than two," a Kamikaze from behind them yelled out, among harsh laughter and jeering.

Naruto stayed where he was, not moving, his head held high- but his hands were curled into fists, his nails biting into his skin. His mouth was set stubbornly.

"Silence," the snake man (or Orochimaru) said. He spoke softly, but the Kamikazes had heard, and were immediately quiet. "Continue, Siren."

"I would like to have it agreed that this is a neutral territory," he continued smoothly, as if no one had interrupted him.

"This is agreed by me," Orochimaru answered. "After all, this is not really the proper place for a gang war...is it?" His voice was controlled, but Naruto could hear slight taunting beneath the formal tone, as if he was planning something.

"Then all is at peace for the moment." Haku turned, as they all did.

And then, it all _really_ began.

The next day, the Sand Kamikaze table was dumped with hundreds of pound of kitty litter in the middle of breakfast.

The day after that, Sound Kamikazes found worms in their packed lunches.

The day after that, both Sand and Sound continually were setting off traps, and rubber frogs went flying at them.

The day after that, when the Sound Kamikazes sat down for dinner multiple whoopie cushions went off, as well as some stink bombs for effect.

The day after that, Sound woke up with music symbols scribbled all over their faces in permanent marker.

At this, one particularly angry, marked Sound Kamikaze marched up to Naruto at the exercise yard, grabbed the teen by his collar with one hand, and pulled him up until he was eye to eye with him. "C'mon, brat, spill," he snarled. "How're you doing this?"

Naruto was about to snap back, eyes blazing, when the Sound let go, yelping. Confused, the blonde looked over to see Sasuke twisting his other arm behind his back, holding onto his thumb. "How could he have done it? There's no way he could have gotten out of his cell at night." Sasuke said calmly.

"That brat could do anything! Don't you know who-ow! That hurts!"

"It's supposed to, moron. And I was with him all night. If you've forgotten, he's my cellmate. Next time, get better proof before you accuse." Sasuke gave one final, hard twist, then let go.

The Sound glared at Sasuke, before narrowing his eyes. "You'll be sorry. You're gonna be next, you know. You can't trust that bastard child. He's exactly what his gang _used_ to be- a demon."

Sasuke just watched the man with cold, black eyes. Finally, the Sound inmate turned and stalked angrily back to his group. Then someone punched Sasuke from behind.

The dark-haired man spun around indignantly, only to face a bristling Naruto.

"What the fuck was that for?" Sasuke demanded.

"What the fuck was _that_ for?" The blonde snarled back. "I don't need anyone to help me, 'specially you!"

"What's you're problem? I don't like the Sound any more than you do, idiot!"

At this Naruto froze, his head ducked. "Yeah. You don't _like_ the Sound anymore than I do-" Blue, angry eyes flashed up at Sasuke through long bangs. "But you can't hate them as much as I do."

"Hey, Kid, whatcha doin'? Was that dude botherin' you?" Kiba sauntered over to the two, at first not noticing the tension. Akamaru whimpered, and the wild man scratched his head. "Hey, what's up with you guys?"

"Nothing!" Naruto said brightly, lifting his head and grinning. "And naw, he wasn't. He just wanted to show me the lovely drawings he found on his face! He even let me get a close-up look at them!"

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes.

He had no idea why the boy had snapped at him, or why he had even protected the brat.

Not that he had felt protective over him, of course.

Because he knew for a fact that Naruto had, indeed, snuck out every night since the Kamikazes had arrived.

He didn't know how, but he noticed that before going to bed Naruto had slipped on a pair of gloves that he had never seen before. He would watch the blonde fall asleep, make sure he was asleep, then go to bed himself. Later, he woke up and saw that the spot where the teen should have been was stuffed with two pillows and a yellow book was lying where his head should have been, in a cheap imitation of blonde hair. He fell asleep again, and in the morning the blonde was were he was before, no gloves, extra pillow, or book in sight.

The Kid was a total mystery to him; from his name to his history to the reason why he so despised the Kamikazes, even before he found out they had killed the Demons.

And Sasuke was determined to find out everything about the boy that he could.

Everything.

But one question continued to pop out atSasuke the entire time, ever since he had refused to give his name.

_Why_ is he hiding it?


	13. Just a Bad Marvel ComicRight?

**Title- Story of My Life**

**Chapter 13- You Thought You Knew**

**AN- Okay my peeps. You've probably noticed, but this plot is getting more and more angsty. I apologize for that, but it's just the way the story's headed. I don't even really plan what happens next. It unfolds before me. (Which means that I get frequent writer's block and I just come up with things in the middle of the night. Then forget them. Then beat myself with a 2x4. And then my mommy gives me my pills.) Then, when I went to download this chapter on the comp about a week or more ago, my computer wouldn't let me! And then had to have that stupid thing the last coupla nights (where you can't submit, review, or favoritize- those who _live_ on know what I'm talking about) So finally, I give you the Next Chapter.**

**Disclaimer- Please don't sue me. I'm broke as it is.**

blah

_Behind this smiling face is the perfect hiding place; every treasure leaves a trace. Do you really want to know me?_

- Debra Davis

_The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved_.

- Mother Teresa

_At the innermost core of all loneliness is a deep and powerful yearning for union with __one's lost soul._

- Brendan Francis

blah

"Naruto, wake up." Sasuke glared irritably at the blonde.

"Nng.."

"I said get up! It's time for breakfast."

The blonde rolled over. "Lemme sleep in," he whined. "I don' feel so good."

"Come _on_, Naruto!"

"Iruka, I don' feel good..." he repeated. "I don' wanna go to school..."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. " 'Iruka'?"

Naruto tossed around until he was facing Sasuke. His face was flushed and red, and his eyes were half-lidded and glazed. "I-Iruka, I'm cold. Real cold. Can you turn on the heater?"

"..." With that, Sasuke turned and walked out of the cell, down the hall, and to Kakashi. "The Kid's sick."

Kakashi sighed. "I guess that means I'll have to take him to the doctor. Unless..." A hopeful smile flitted over his two-thirds covered face.

"I am not taking him for you, Kakashi. One, _you_ are the guard; two, I hungry; and three, I don't even know where the doctor _is_!" He said, exasperated. "I am not taking him for you, and you can't trick me into it!"

"How the hell did he trick me into taking you?" Sasuke muttered to himself as he dragged Naruto down the hall. "Honestly..."

"You know, it's a lot nicer here than on the streets," Naruto told him, his blue eyes bright and glassy with fever. "You get food. Warm place to sleep. Clothes. It's nice. Harpy always complains about the cold. She hates the cold. I'll just tell her to commit a felony." He giggled, his face flushed and sweaty. "Ha, Harpy couldn't rob a car if it was unlocked and there were signs all over it saying, 'I'm Free!' and there was a gazillion dollars in it." His face grew sober. "But on the streets they leave you. Everyone eventually leaves. You'll leave. Siren'll leave. Kiba 'n Shika 'n Chouji 'n Neji will all leave. Vamp's already gone. They're all gone. Soon everyone'll be gone. And I'll be allllll aloooone..." His voice had a sing-songy tone, before it hardened. "I'm always alone. It'll never change."

"Well I'm here right _now_, aren't I?" Sasuke asked him irritably. "Doesn't that count?"

Naruto looked as if he was about to answer when a female guard yelled, "Hey, _you_! What do you think you're doing?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "He's sick. I'm taking him to the doctor's office."

The guard swaggered towards them. "I'll take the boy," she said curtly. "I have a feeling you have no clue where it is." She looked at Naruto, who just stared up at her with feverish, blank eyes. Whistling, she muttered, "Holy Cripes. Kitagawa! Matoshi!" She called out, raising her voice. "Take Uchiha to the food hall!"

The two guards down the hall straightened and saluted. "Yes ma'am, Shizune-san!"

Shizune noticed that Sasuke's mouth was firm and frowing. "Don't worry, he'll be fine," she told him, grabbing Naruto under the armpits and hoisting his arm over her shoulders.

Sasuke immediately let go. "I don't careabout him, I was just wondering how you knew my name," he snapped

The corners of Shizune's mouth twitched, as if she was about to smile. "Boy, everyone knows who you are."

"Let's go, boy!" The guard called Kitagawa barked, tightening his grip on his gun. "We don't have all day! I don't care if you're worried or whatever, but I have other things to do."

"Hn." Sasuke turned around and walked away. He wasn't worried about that brat. Why would he be worried? Why _should_ he be worried? After all, it was just a bad cold, nothing more. Right?

blah

"HE'S SICK!"

"Haku-kun, keep your voice down," Sakura scolded him. "_They_ might hear you!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Haku (whose expression was unreadable but his eyebrow was twitching) and put down his fork. "It's just a fever."

Inari glared at the lazy young man. "_Just_ a _fever?_ Honestly, don't you know _anything_ about Kyuubi?"

"No." Shikamaru, Lee, Kiba, and Neji chorused. Sasuke remained quiet.

Haku sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Kyuubi hallucinates when he's sick. Especially when he has fevers."

"Hallucigates isn't the proper word!" Inari added. "One time, when he had this wicked harsh fever, he thought he was a kid again! Started going off about stuff that had happened before."

"Hallucinates," Sakura corrected Inari. "And he re-lives everything horrible that has happened to him. Without knowing it..."

"Without _knowing_ it?" Shikamaru snorted. "This sounds like a load of bullshit if you ask me. The Kid's crazy and enigmatic to begin with, and this whole thing is starting to sound like a bad Marvel comic."

"Where everyone has a secret? If that's what you mean, Shika-kun," -here Shikamaru shuddered at the insane-like cheerful voice of the killer Siren

"-then this is-" Sakura cut in.

"-the worst one you will _ever_ read." Inari glared at the Konoha inmates, who just stared back at the three.

_'They know. They must know. Oh, how displeased my Gai-sensei will be! I must do five hundred push-ups when I return to my cell as a punishment. If I cannot do that, I shall do five hundred sit-ups! If I cannot do that, I shall...'_

_'Aw, shit! Do they know? I mean, maybe bringing Akamaru in here was a bit of a give-away, but still!' '_Bark!'_ 'I know, impossible!'_

_'This is all so boring. And stupid. Although, if they do know, maybe something exciting will happen. Yeah right.'_

_'They must be the ones that Uncle told me about. Maybe doing those petty crimes was worth it after all.'_

_'Hn. Explains the whole Iruka thing.'_

Kiba coughed to break the uncomfortable silence and looked over at the surrounding tables. "Hey, that Gaara guy's gone, too."

"Holy _shit_! I just _knew_ that damn _mother-fucker_ would go!" Sakura cursed, suddenly looking evil, with the shadowed face and clenched fists and grinding teeth. Thunder boomed and lightning crashed.

"WOW! You have such spirit! I _like_ that!"

Sakura blinked, and the evil villianess-look was gone, replaced by a sickly-sweet, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. It's an old habit."

"_Some_one's bipolar," Kiba muttered to Shikamaru. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Let's just try to get to the doctor's office before Gaara does," Haku told her. His smile did not reach his cold, worried eyes. "I fear for Kyuubi and his sanity if we don't."

Sasuke suddenly felt a chill go up his spine, and his mind suddenly flashed back to a news report he had seen only a few days before.

_Last Tuesday, scientist discovered a new lead to the Konoha Orphanage Massacre of 1998. Dr. Jiraiya Chidori, the head of the investigation committee, had this to say: "We have recently stumbled upon an overlooked piece of DNA that does not belong to any of the victims. We are not ruling out the possibility that it is the DNA of the missing boy, but at least now we can re-open the case. Thanks to this evidence, we can now receive the support we desire from the crime laboratories and various prisons so that we can finally track down the cruel person that committed this evil act." Scientists and police officers continue to work continuously to find the mass-murderer. If found, he or she will probably face the death penalty. Back to you, Keiko! _


	14. Strange Happenings

**Title- Story of My Life**

**Chapter 14- Strange Happenings**

**AN- Okay! -sweatdrop- I know that the last chapter was short, and I apologize...Sorry, Kyuubi-kun...also, I screwed up and made Sasuke call Naruto by his real name...THANK YOU DIE KIKYO DIE for pointing that out to me. Alright! For the rest of it...I thank ALL my reviewers that say that I'm outlandish! I _like_ that! I started this fic hoping that it was one-of-a-kind, and I'm glad that it is (because all you fellow fanfic authors out there know how easily a Mary-Sue or Mary-Sue situation appears in our fics, right? They just pop up!) And also, I apologize even more greatly for the sudden lack of humor. I TRIED! I really did...I've also got a pretty good angst brain (never goes far, always one-shotters) so it keeps popping out! I do tell you, though, that there will be a big angsty drop, and then it'll fly right back up to humor! This is only one part of the story, folks...there's plenty more to come!**

**On another, more random note. I. Hate. SATs. I abhor them. I despise them. I _loath_ them. Aren't those great hate words? Note to self: use those words in fic.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU TELL ME! It influences the way and style of my writing. Sometimes I just need a quick jolt to remember what type of fic I'm writing. There hasn't been much romance, and the comedy is ebbing away. -grumble grumble- I can't even remember my own genre...**

* * *

**Roses are Red**

**Violets are Blue**

**Naruto ain't mine**

**So Please Don't Sue

* * *

**

_Our sins are more easily remembered than our good deeds._

-Democritus

_The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible._

-Oscar Wilde

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes wearily. _It's so hot. Why is it so hot?_ Looking around, he attempted to smile at the familiar sight of a clean, plain, starch-white room. _Oh yeah. It's August. The orphanage always gets really hot during fall._ Laughter of small children giggling and playing rang in his ears from the open window as a cool breeze swept through the room. A stronger, strange breeze came, but from the opposite direction. The blonde turned his head towards the door to see who had entered.

"Hey, how ya doin', Shukaku?"

The redhead stood silent by Naruto's bedside, before leaning over the sick boy. Gaara;s hand stretched outward, reaching closer and closer to Naruto's unprotected neck...

And then reached further up and felt his forehead.

"I think you get these fevers on purpose," he quipped.

Naruto grinned. "Heh, only when Sister Clarice goes all ape on me for not doing my homework. Say, whatcha doin' in the orphanage?"

"I came to visit you," Gaara answered smoothly. "Why else?"

"Well, I dunno...you seem to really like Sister Mary Anne's cupcakes, and it _is_ almost my birthday..."

"I have a couple of questions for you," Gaara said swiftly. "About your birthday."

"Shoot!" Naruto grinned, and tried to sit up using his elbows, but failed, his face pale and sweaty. "Hey Shu-kun, is it really hot in here or is it just me?"

"_That _birthday." Gaara's face was unreadable in shadows that suddenly appeared.

"W-what are you talkin' about?" The blonde finally gave up and flopped back down on the bed. He kicked off the covers uncomfortably. "Shukaku, it's _reeeeally_ hot in here," he whined, his glassy eyes pleading.

Gaara sat down on the bed and placed an ice-cold hand to the blonde's forehead. "You know what I'm talking about," he whispered. "I need to know who was there."

Naruto relaxed under the coolness, then jolted up, his blue, glassy eyes wide and afraid. "No, no, I don't know what you're talking about..."

"You _do_ know. Was _he_ there, Naruto? Was he?"

"Let go of me! I don't know!" Naruto was in a panic now, his voice cracking with fear and misery. "No, no, go away!"

"Please, Naruto..." the redhead's voice became softer. "I need to know."

"NO!" Naruto sat straight up, eyes clenched closed, his fists pounding his forehead. "_NOOOO!_"

The children's screams of laughter turned into screams of pain and terror, the sun shining outside the room became a clear, star-filled night sky. A man chuckled evilly outside his door.

"_You were with them,_" Naruto whispered, his voice filled with terror. "_TRAITOR!"_

"Naruto!" Gaara tried to grab the blonde's clenched fists, but was pushed away. A cold dread he never thought he would ever feel flooded his veins as a growling, half-demonic voice hissed at him.

"_I trusted you."_

"Listen to me, Naruto, I just need to know who-"

Naruto began to scream, covering his head and rocking back and forth. Tears streamed down his face, and words poured meaninglessly out of his mouth.

"Promiseneverdidn'tmeanyourfaultevilhowcouldyouwhynostoplemmegodon'tpleasestopstopthey'rehurtingwhystopnononotSisterPennynonothey'remyfriendsIhavefriendsyesfriendsno,nomorefriendswhydon'twannagolemmealonenono,stopitstopitstopit_STOPIT!_"

"Gaara, you sonufabitch, what do you think you're doing!" a high-pitched voice screeched. Slowly turning around, the Sand Kamikaze found himself face-to-face to an extremely pissed-off, murderous-looking, pink-haired demon. Literally. "Get the _fuck_ away from him, bastard!"

"Faerie."

"Why you little-" she growled through clenched teeth, taking a step forward to pummel the much-taller redheaded male.

"Sakura, take care of Naruto," Haku said sharply, running through the door behind her. "And _you._" He glared coldly at Gaara. "Get out of here. Now."

Gaara watched him. His eyes had lost any softness that they had previously held, and the daring gaze in his stone green eyes declared, 'make me'.

"Get. Out."

The Kamikaze's eyes darted over to the black-haired man standing behind Haku. His fists were clenched slightly. 'Where have I- oh yes. Naruto's cell mate.' Gaara's mind flashed back to the emotionless man drawing steadily as Naruto had glared at the redhead.

"Oy, what's- what the fuck, what'dya do to the Kid!" exclaimed Kiba. Lee and Shikamaru stopped dead in their tracks, and as soon as Neji saw Naruto he turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Gaara sighed- this was much more complicated than he would have liked. Silently, he shot Haku a deadly stare, smirked at the man known as Sasuke, and left.

"What'd- where did-" Kiba gave up trying to find out what had happened. "Hey, is the Kid alright?"

Sasuke remembered the reason why he had came to the doctor's office, and turned to look at the blonde. He was pale, sweating, shaking, and still rocking slowly back and forth. Sakura had gently and slowly placed her arms around him and held him gently, stroking his hair softly to comfort him as best as she could.

"Shhh, it's alright, it's okay, I'm here, we're here." she cooed, attempting to soothe him.

"Neverokayithurtswhynotmyfaultithurtsithurts..."

"I know, Naruto, I know, it's alright, I'm here."

"Didn'twannanevermeanttowhyithurtstoohottoohottoohotFae-chanit'stoohot..."

"You five, back to the dining hall," a commanding female voice said. Sasuke wrenched his eyes away from the heart-breaking scene before him to glare at the tall, vivacious blonde woman before him. Behind her were about four or five guards.

The five inmates made no moves, other than to inch a bit closer to Naruto's bedside.

"I _said, _Prisoners #11112, #1497, #1563, #2406, #3458, and #5412, go back to the dining hall."

Confused gazes met her demands.

She sighed heavily. "Nara, Rock, Inuzuki, Haku, Uchiha, and Sakura." The woman turned around and glared at Shizune, who stood behind her. "Why the hell do we give them numbers if we never use them?"

"I don't know, Tsunade-sama. I believe the law requires us to."

"Law, shmaw, no one uses those damn things anyway!" Tsunade turned and put her hands on her hips. "_Well_?"

Having a feeling they wouldn't want to mess with this strange woman, the men quickly left, albeit a bit angry (Sasuke), confused (Kiba and Lee), headache-y (Shikamaru) and worried (Haku). Sakura, however, just met Tsunade's gaze evenly and tightened her grip on Naruto.

"I'm not leaving him."

The older woman's gaze softened, and she told Sakura gently, "We aren't going to hurt him. We just need to know what's wrong." Ino, whom Sakura had became friends with early on from her arrival, stepped to the other side of the bed and placed her hands on his temples.

_**NARUTO P.O.V**_

It hurts. Too hot.

_I'm sorry, little one._

Go away.

_**chuckle** You know, it's not your fault it happened._

But why?

_They wanted your power. _Our_ power._

Why?

_I don't know._

**pause** It's so dark. Too dark.

_I know._

It's _your_ fault, too.

_They were controlling me._

You didn't stop.

_I couldn't stop, little one._

Not little. Not anymore.

_I know._

They won't like you.

_No one likes me._

**pause** It wasn't your fault?

_No._

Then I like you.

_I know._

Do you know everything?

_**chuckle** No._

They know.

_Yes._

But _they_ don't know.

_Yes._

You're gonna tell them.

_Yes._

Why?

_They must know._

**silence**

_Child?_

It's too hot.

_I'm sorry._

It hurts, it hurts so badly.

_I know._

Why do I have to remember?

_No one must be forgotten._

No one? No one at all?

_No one but me, little one._

But I won't forget you.

_I know._

It's easier to forget. Pretend like it was a dream. That it's not reality.

_Yes, it is._

I did that for a long time, didn't I?

_Yes, you did._

Until I met _him_.

_Yes._

Do they know about it?

_**silence**_

Kyuubi?

_**hiss **Intruder..._

**NORMAL P.O.V.**

Ino screamed in pain and quickly withdrew her hands, as if they had touched fire. Three angry, red scratches appeared across her right hand. "Ts-ts-tsunade-sama," she stuttered, cradling her hand. "How? It was so hot...how could...how did...how _can_..." Her voice went higher and higher in panic until it cracked.

"You need to leave, now," Tsunade ordered Sakura as she gently examined Ino's hand.

The pink-haired inmate was about to retort when Naruto's eyes snapped open. His arms left his knees to snake around Sakura protectively, and he muttered one word in a harsh voice.

"No!"

Tsunade stared into swirling orbs of purple, dashes of red and sparkles of blue bubbling up from its depths. "You're-" She cut off her sentence as Naruto blinked once, then opened his eyes again. There they were, deep blue eyes. No purple. No red. No longer glassy from fever. But she knew that it had been there. And now she knew what was going to happen.

"I'm feeling better now."

Shizune hesitated to come across the room, flinching slightly as Naruto shifted in his bed, then placed a tentative hand on his forehead. Startled, she drew back just as fast as Ino had. "I can't believe it!"

"His temperature has returned to its normal level," Tsunade added, sighing and rubbing her head. "Just what I need."

"How- how did you...?"

Tsunade groaned. "He _knows_, Shizune. So does she," the blonde indicated Sakura with her head. "Take the others and go. I have to have a little chat with these two."

"H-hai, ma'am!"

After the guards had left, Ino still clutching her hand and avoiding eye contact with Naruto, Tsunade placed her hands on her hips.

"Alright, brat, spill it!"

"I can't believe you did this to so many of us!" Sakura blurted, glaring at the older women. "Do they know? Do _any_ of them know! Are they all just hiding from each other, thinking that they'll be shunned like they are in public!"

"Yeah, yeah they are." Naruto snarled, adding his hateful look at Tsunade. "And thanks to that, I have a certian guarantee that Kyuubi's gonna try to take me over to kindly explain to the inmates all about it!"

"Just what we need," Sakura groaned, rubbing her temples. "Remember the last time you accidentally let him out? It took _forever_ to get him to switch you again, plus lots of persuasion by Haku and promises of tons of ramen."

"Kyuubi? You mean, you're-" Tsunade cut herself off. "Of course. We only know of two people that can do what you do, and both of them are here. Gaara's under enough-"

"DON'T YOU SAY HIS NAME!" Naruto yelled.

Tsunade looked up, startled. "Why shouldn't I?" she questioned him. "Have you two met before?"

"Gaara-" Sakura spat, "_used_ to be apart of the Demons. Not to mention that he and Naruto practically grew up together."

**TBC**

**AN- Mwuahahahahaha! I left you at a cliff-hanger! I haven't done that in ages...I feel like such a bad person...heh heh...probably because I _am _a bad person. But I wanted to get this chapter up as soon as possible.**

**I know this is a very awkward thing to ask, but if any of you are Christians, (or even if you're not), please pray for the Snells. They're a family that goes to my church, and their 18-year-old-daughter (and one of my friends), just died in a tragic car accident. It hasn't really hit me until now. The funeral was today, and there was an open viewing. I didn't really know it was her, so when I saw her I totally broke down. They need all the prayer they can get. Thank you.**


	15. Nothing's Impossible

1**Title- Story of My Life**

**Chapter- ?**

**AN- To those who said they would pray for my friend's family or keep them in their thoughts, thank you! To those who said (since they weren't Christians) that you would keep my friend's family in your good thoughts, thank you! I think it's really kind that, although you don't share the same beliefs I hold, you still offer to keep them in your good thoughts. -biiiiig grin- Also...I have discovered my latest anime and manga obsessions! Anime Kyo Kara Maoh! (God(?) Save Our King!) Manga W-Juliet. -glee- I love them...and I'm currently dying for YuuriWolfram. -heart- So..._kawaii!_ -melt- Anyway, back to Naruto.**

**To Certian Reviewers-**

**godess of sand-** I shall bring in the romance soon! I _promise_! Either in this chapter or the next. I warn you, if you're looking for some good smut, you're not gonna find it here. I _suck_ at those types of yummy scenes. That's not to say that I won't try...-evil grin-

**Insomniac Jaki**- Don't worry your pretty little head about what Sakura said. You didn't miss a thing. It'll all be explained later on. Also, the guards know who Naruto is. It's just the dumb prisoners that don't know. (Haha, I called Shikamaru dumb!)

**Die Kikyo Die**- Yeah, Gaara knows it because he grew up with Naruto, Sakura knows it because she knew Naruto before he went to jail, and Tsunade knew because she works for the prison. Read above comment to Insomniac Jaki if you don't get it.

**Random**- Potsdam? Um, no offence, but where the hell is that? Is it even in SoCal at all? -totally confused- Dude, I live by LA. Is Potsdam by LA? I have no clue...haha, I would love to grow up in that city, though! It'd be like, "Yo, where d'ya live?" and I'd be all, "I live in PotsDAMN! -insert very wanna-be black hand motion here-"

**Kyuubi-kun-** Thank you so much, my dear sweet Kyuubi-kun, to whom I must add that I think it's hilarious that you call _yourself_ a pagan. Or is it a normal term in the regular world? Help me out here, Kyuubi; I grew up in a sheltered world. I need to know these things. (This is also why I study and love the wonderful world of yaoi. If my parents found out, they'd totally flip.) Also, thanks for pointing out my _stupid_ mistake in Shukaku's name. –feels like an idiot.

LINE HERE

_A crowd was gathering beneath the tent-_

_The clown must keep them in a happy mood;_

_No matter if the jokes are rough and rude,_

_A circus is a place for merriment._

_And one must be quick-minded and invent_

_New tricks and let no saddened thoughts intrude,_

_Nor let the public see him sigh or brood,_

_But banish care and seem indifferent._

_There came a lull- I saw him lean awhile_

_Against a post and gaze with weary eyes,_

_As if he traveled backward many a mile..._

_And though his body wore a gay disguise,_

_For one brief space he played a tragic role-_

_There is no mask to hide a lonely soul._

-Margaret E. Bruner

LINE HERE

Halfway down the hall, Lee stopped dead in his tracks. "My fellow men, I have a question to make," he stated.

Kiba folded his arms across his chest. "Shoot."

"Was it just me, or did I hear the Kid being called repeatedly Naruto?"

Silence filled the hall.

Four extremely confused and irritated prisoners turned to stare at Haku.

Haku coughed nervously. "Heh heh, well, you see..." his voice trailed off.

Hand motions to continue.

"He doesn't want-"

Multiple glares.

"Yes. His name's Naruto."

"As in, Uzumaki Naruto?" Neji pondered aloud.

Haku began to sweat.

"Nope," four chorused, not one of them bothering to notice the Mist prisoner's nervousness.

Shikamaru yawned. "No way. There's _no way _that annoying _brat_ could be the famous Uzumaki Naruto."

Neji snorted. "That klutz wouldn't even be able to open a lock if he had the original key."

"Plus, he's way to short!"

"And loud!"

"Hyperactive!"

"How could _he_ be able to hold the respect of all the journalism world? The whole _world_, for that matter?"

"Yeah, haha, no way..." Haku said weakly. "Erm.." he coughed once or twice. "What do you say that we return to our breakfast?"

"Sounds good!"

"Hey, Haku, are you _really_ a murderer? You seem too nice..." Kiba scratched his head. "I mean, origionally I was scared to death of being around you, but now you don't really seem all that bad."

"You'd be suprised, Kiba-kun.-smile, heart-"

"...-shudder- Okay, I believe you. Just...don't _ever_ call me that again."

"Alright, Kiba-kun. -smile, heart-"

"You're _unbearable_..."

When Sasuke saw the one Mist and other four Konoha inmates bickered back and forth down the hallway, he stopped and tilted his head back to look down the hall, black hair falling infront of his eyes. He brooded for a moment, staring at the path to the doctor's office, then turned around and began to catch up to the others.

However, although the inmates had all been facing the opposite direction of him, he could have sworn that he felt someone's eyes watching him...

LINE HERE

Sakura clenched and unclenched the white bedsheets between her hands. "Gaara grew up with Naruto," she repeated. "Naruto trusted him. Since Naruto trusted him, _we_ trusted him. Well, we trusted him back when he was Shukaku."

"Back before I knew that he had _family_," the blonde spat. "Before I knew that he was in cahoots with the Kamis. Back before-" he stopped in the middle of his sentence, but forced himself to go on. "Back before I knew that he had been there. That night."

"What night, Naruto?" Tsunade asked gently.

"The night...at the orphanage." He ducked his head and began to shake slightly. "When they-"

He felt a cool, gentle hand press onto his shoulder. Looking up into long-lashed eyes, Tsunade told him quietly, "I know what happened. And it _wasn't your fault_."

"I should have been able to stop him..." Naruto moaned, and began to curl up again.

SLAP

The teenage boy lifted a hand to his stinging cheek and stared at Sakura in shock. The pink-haired woman was glaring at him. "Now you stop this! What's done is done! You can't change the past, you can only learn from it, and you've learned enough! You've also suffered enough, so you deserve _some_ sort of happiness. So stop your god-damned moping and get up already!"

Naruto was silent for a few moments, then said softly, "Sakura..."

"What?"

"Sakura, you've been very feisty lately."

"Feisty? Why you dog-gamned, mother-fuckin' punk, I'll show _you_ feisty!"

"I-I didn't mean it!"

"Too late to take it back now, buddy boy! Your head is mine!"

"B-but, Sakura-chan, I _like_ my head! I have great hair!"

"That's why I want it! It's not like you have any brains in there!"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, bitch?"

"What do you _think_ it means, idiot?"

"Okay, _enough_ you two!" Tsunade grabbed the two teenagers, who were currently wrestling, by the backs of their shirts and hauled them apart. On the outside she smirked as she took in Naruto's and Sakura's devilish looks, messed-up hair, slightly-torn clothes, and hidden grins on each of their faces. On the inside, she smiled softly. 'Whatever bond Naruto has with Sakura, it must be strong, if she can get him to smile after all that. What this boy must have gone through...' Shaking her head, she put a scowl on her face and pointed her finger out the door. "I want you two out of here in fifteen minutes, you got that?"

"Why fifteen?" Naruto asked her as he attempted to somewhat tame his wild golden hair. "Why not five?"

Tsunade smiled slightly. "If you go out now, others might see your...less than innocent states and think that you were doing the unthinkable." She turned and walked out of the door, counting silently.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

"EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!"

LINE HERE

'Sasuke seems to be colder to me today than he is normally,' Naruto thought as he randomly plucked long, grass stems off the field in the exercise yard. Not yet ready to return into what he idealized as a pack of hyenas, Naruto and Sakura had lingered in the doctor's office, talking. Finally Shizune was forced to kick them out. (Not fifteen minutes had past, mind you, but two hours). They had gone straight to the exercise yard. Instead of sighing and casually strolling over to Naruto to irritably ask him if he was going to do that anymore, (As the blonde was guessing the cold bastard would do) he gave Naruto a look that would kill, then disappeared. 'Maybe he's mad that he had to walk me to the doc's office.'

"No, Kiba, I do not want to help you hit on the female prisoners," he said loudly to the dog-man.

The girls, who were only standing a few yards away, began to crack up.

"You brat!" Kiba seethed. "I can't believe you, Naruto! Blowing my cover like that!"

"What cover are you talking abo-" Naruto stopped in the middle of his sentence.

Lee discontinued his morning stretches and looked questioningly at Naruto. "My blonde companion, is everything alright?"

"What did you just call me?"

Kiba's heart stopped for a moment. Naruto's voice was lower than usual. "Uh...heh heh...I didn't say anything...er...what I mean is...what I'm trying to say...HAKU TOLD ME!"

Shikamaru groaned from his position on the grassy ground, turned his face away, and covered it with an arm. "Smooth move, X-lax."

"Er...you aren't mad, right?" Kiba said tentatively. "I mean, it's not that big of a deal. It's only a first name, right? (If I'm X-lax, you gotta be Preparation H, you lazy, good-for-nothin' bum!)"

"And a very good one indeed!" Lee added triumphantly.

Naruto lifted his head and grinned boyishly. "Yeah, you're right! It's only a name." He scratched his head sheepishly. "I don't know why I didn't tell you guys..."

"It's fine." The blonde looked over to Neji, who sat with his back turned to Naruto and stared at something in the distance. "After all, everyone has _some_ secrets."

"Yeah. Some."

"What was that, Kid?" Shikamaru moved his arm over to squint at Naruto.

"Ah, heh heh, nothing, Shika! Hey, anyone seen Sasuke?" The teenager quickly changed the subject. If anyone noticed, no one spoke up.

Akamaru barked, and Kiba shrugged. "He's off all by his lonesome somewhere in the Forest. Go figure."

"I gotta go thank him for taking me to the doctor's office." Naruto stood, brushed himself off, then saluted mockingly to his friends. "Ciao!"

Naruto took off for the forest at a run. Moments after he had gone, leaving the four to scratch their heads in confusion (except for Neji. Neji did not become confused.), Kiba questioned Lee, "Did I miss something?"

Lee just shrugged, a quizzical look on his face.

"I have a strange feeling that we've missed something...Something that has to do with Naruto's name..." Neji pondered.

Shikamaru just sighed. "Oh well. If you forgot it, how important can it be? It's not like he has some huge secret that he's hiding from us or anything."

LINE HERE!

The blonde teenager soon found Sasuke sitting on a large branch of a tree. "Hey! Hey SAAAAAAAASUKEEEEEEE!" he called out. "Come down here!"

Sasuke silently dropped from his spot in the tree, to land on the ground by Naruto's feet.

"Heh, I'd give it a 8.5!" Naruto attempted to joke, holding up and imaginary score card.

Sasuke: "..."

"Er...9.0!"

"..."

"9...5?"

"..."

"Okay, fine! 10.0! You have reached perfection with your multiple evil glares! _I_ would call it death threats, but you'd probably kill me!"

"...what do you want?"

Naruto pouted, folding his arms over his chest and giving Sasuke a sideways glance, before sighing dejectedly, putting his hands behind his back, and stared at the ground. "I just wanted to thank you for taking me to the doctor's office. I mean, you didn't have to, but you did! If I said anything stupid or shocking, it was just the fever. I tend to hallucinate when I get them, oh who'm I kidding, you probably already know, right? But you really didn't have to. I mean, I get them all the time, it's not big deal-"

"Bull _fuckin' _shit!"

Naruto looked up, startled, only to find himself staring into black, swirling, angry eyes. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke lunged forward and slammed into Naruto, pinning the boy to the tree.

"S-sasuke-bastard!" Naruto's voice held part fear, part confusion, and part panic. "Lemme go!"

"What the _fuck_ is your problem?" The dark-haired man hissed at him, ignoring his cry. "Just this morning you were over 103 degrees Fahrenheit, you're shaking and pale! Then I walk back into the doctor's office, and you're screaming like someone had just killed your mother! And now you expect me to believe you're magically better, just like that? Bull shit! What the _hell_ are you hiding, _Naruto_? And why the fuck are you hiding them?"

During this little speech Naruto had begun to shake. He ducked his head so his bangs covered his eyes, and his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were deathly white. "Why. The. _FUCK_. Should. _I. _Tell. _YOU_?" His fear, panic, and confusion had dissapated, replaced by pure rage. "Huh, Uchiha? _Why_? What fuckin' reason do you have that makes you even _consider_ that I should trust you! First, you're a self-righteous bastard who pretends he had absolutely no emotion, but that's just bull shit! Second, you _read_ my _notebook!_ And thirdly, you're so wrapped up in yourself and your little problems that you are _totally and idiotically oblivious to everyone else!_"

With every word that he snarled, his tone went lower and deadlier.

"Well, at least I don't pretend like life's all sunshine and daisies! I've gone through _hell_, and you just parade around with grins and-"

BAM

"What the _fuck?_" Sasuke yelled, clutching his now-bruised forehead. "You _headbutted_ me!"

"Don't act like you fuckin' know me, bastard!" Naruto spat, choosing to ignore Sasuke's obvious statement and rubbing his own sore forehead.

"Well, you don't know shit about me, either."

"At least _I_ know that we're more alike than you know!"

"Oh yeah? So, you're telling me that people, even supposed friends, cower in fear of you? You've woken up to find the bloody corpse of your family, and see their blood on your hands, and have to spend torturous hours knowing-" He cut himself off. With every word his voice had risen in panic and- no. Uchiha Sasuke doesn't fear. He's not afraid. Ever. "I've had enough of this shit," he muttered, and turned away as if to leave.

"That you didn't do it?"

Sasuke froze. He turned his head back, and saw a totally new Naruto.

Those clear blue eyes weren't filled with tears of pain, or misery, or panic, or hate, or laughter, or sadness, or any of the emotions that Sasuke had seen in the boy before. Instead, there was a look that Sasuke recognized well. It was the look that Sasuke had seen in his own eyes. They were despondent of anything but self-loathing, slight guilt, and total and complete understanding.

"We're more alike than you know," the blonde repeated quietly. "But of the two of us, you're the better half."

The small area stayed quiet for a long moment, as the two just watched each other in silence. Sasuke made the first move to break the ice. He said softly, sullenly, "I was- I was worried, okay? I've never seen someone do that before."

Naruto's demeanor had a total transformation. It was so fast, that Sasuke had to remind himself who the teen had been just nanoseconds before. A brilliant, _real_ smile spread across the blonde's face, and his eyes sparkled with laughter and mischief. "The Lone Bastard actually cares?" he managed to joke.

At this, Sasuke could feel the back of his neck heat up in embarrassment, so turned his head back around and scoffed, "I only wanted to know if it was contageous or not. It was seriously traumatizing." He told himself that he did _not_ see Naruto's cheeks turn a slight tinge of pink out of the corner of his eye.

"Riiiiiiiiiight!"

"Just...come on already, idiot."

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Yes, you are."

"I'm as much an idiot as you are a nice person!"

"Don't act like you fuckin' know me."

"OoooOOh! The Ice Lord knows sarcasm!"

"..."

"...waaaaait a minute, I just said that! You can't use my words!"

"But we're more alike than you think..."

"You're such a bastard!"

"Will you just shut up already?"

"Your _mom_ shuts up! BUUUUUUURN!"

"..."

"Uh...heh heh...I, er, I take that back..."

"..."

"...-sweatdrop-"

"...your _mom_ takes that back..."

"BASTARD!"

LINE HERE

"Is it even possible?"

"Is what possible?" Sakura glanced over at Tenten. The dealer had stopped in mid-polish of her favorite weapon (two stolen potato peelers that had their dull sides removed and were linked together with a metal chain that was once a necklace and had also been stolen) to gape, astonished, at the sight before here.

"I can't believe it," Ino added, spotting what shocked Tenten.

"What is it?"

"It's S-sasuke-san," Hinata told her.

"You mean that totally sexy babe that Naru- er, Kyuubi's always complaining about?" Sakura asked, attempting to cover up her slip of Naruto's name.

Tenten waved her off, not even bothering to turn and look at her. "We already know that the Kid's name is Naruto. Word spreads fast around here. And yes. The sexy babe that's in the same cell as the Kid."

The pink-haired woman heard Naruto's familiar shout of anger, and finally looked over. Naruto and Sasuke were standing at the borders of the "forest", bickering back and forth. Well, the Uchiha was standing. Naruto was sitting on a low-hanging branch of one of the surrounding trees. Although the murderer's face remained impassive as always, there was an air of comradary around them, and Naruto began to laugh. Sakura knew that was a good sign, because no matter how funny the person was the blonde would _never_ laugh around an enemy or suspected enemy.

"So? It just looks like he's exchanging friendly banter with Naruto. What's wrong with that?"

Three pairs of eyes turned, unbelieving, at the newcomer.

"Whaaaaat?"

"Before that boy came, all Sasuke-kun would say was yes, no, and 'Get the hell away from me'," Ino informed her. "He's said more words in the amount of time that the boy's been here than for all words he's said over the years he's been kept here, combined!"

After Ino's statement, the girls saw the blonde clutched his sides as a peal of laughter erupted from him. Misjudging how wide the branch was, Naruto's eyes widened in horror as he slipped backward and fell SPLAT in a puddle of mud.

And then, while giggling at the teen's childish antics as he began to rant and rave at Sasuke as if it had been the dark-haired man's fault, they heard a strange sound.

It was a very strange sound, for it had not been heard in years. In fact, no one in the prison had _ever_ heard the sound.

It was out-of-place and odd, and yet it melted the heart of every female (and some male) in a 100 foot radius. It was rich, deep, and full of humor.

The world was in shock.

Birds stopped flying, and ran into buildings, trees, windows, and people.

The people in the prison stood still, even the ones with bird guts all over them.

For yes.

Uchiha Sasuke

The number-one most dangerous criminal in the Maximum Security Prison

Had laughed.

It was not a fake laugh, or a soft chuckle, but a full-blown laugh of amusement. Ino had fainted from the shock, and Tenten, Sakura, and Hinata were trying vainly to stop their sudden nosebleeds.

And it seemed that the only one that didn't notice this amazing miracle was a blue-eyed, mud-splattered blonde.

**AN- Okay, peeps, I gotta know...Is the "Your mom!" going around your schools, as well as the burns? My school is psycho with it. I'll just ask someone, "Hey, you got a pencil?" and they'll be all like, "Your _mom_ has a pencil! Mad burn!" Or, I just ask where the ketchup is and this random guy walking by said to me, "Your mom has ketchup!" Very random. Which is so totally awesome (dude/ettes, I am _so_ Californian it's not even funny. Wait, I take that back. It's pretty funny.), because I _love_ random things.**

**HAHA! If any of your watch baseball (I doubt any of you do), you should try to find out what happened at the Dodgers/Rockies game on May 1! I was there! It was so awesome! This guy tried to hit our pitcher with his bat, so the pitcher hit the next batter! And then the entire crowd started to chant, "Ro-ckies suck! Ro-ckies suck!" and someone blew up a condom and it was floating around in the air above the stadium the entire game. It was the wickidest, most wild game I'd ever seen. And now I'm almost a slightly devoted Dodgers fan. Who would've thought...GO LA!**


	16. Dream On

**Title- Story of My Life**

**Chapter 16- Dream On**

**AN- Wow. I have nothing to say. Must...write...**

* * *

_Dream with me/ Dream for the years/ Dream for the laughter/ Dream for the tears/ Dream with me/ Just for today/ Maybe tomorrow the Good Lord'll take it away.

* * *

_

"_This won't hurt a bit."_

"_They're not _really_ your friends..."_

"_Do you expect them to care?"_

"_They don't understand you."_

"_They're nothing like you."_

"_Obey me."_

"_Hear my voice."_

"_Kill them."_

"_KILL THEM!"_

Naruto's eyes flew wide open and he leapt out of his bed. He looked around with wild eyes for a moment, before they landed on his cellmate. Sitting back down on the side of his cot, he took deep breaths and ran a hand through his sweaty hair.

_It was just a dream..._

**No.**

Naruto jumped up again, startled. _What?_

**He's coming.**

He_'s coming? _A cold sweat began to pour down Naruto's forehead.

**Yes. We must leave.**

_Leave? But..._ Naruto gazed at the sleeping Sasuke. He thought about all his new friends, all the people that he had just met, who knew nothing about him.

**They're why we must leave. We must run.**

The tired blonde looked down at his hands for a moment, then slowly nodded.

_Yes. We must run. We have to run._

**HE'S HERE.**

Naruto felt terror clutch his heart.

**_WE MUST FLEE!_** They thought simultaneously.

Not even sparing a glance at Sasuke or his goggles, the frantic boy grabbed his notebook, then reached under his cot. From underneath the dusty dark he pulled out a pair of thick gloves. After pulling them on, he gently pushed up on the air vent above his and Sasuke's cell. Finally, he stopped and looked one last time at the dark-haired man.

He looked so peaceful, with his eyes closed and his lips parted softly. He looked almost like an angel. Naruto hesitated from his task at hand. Did he really want to do this? Did he want to leave his friend?

Taking slow step, Naruto walked over to the Uchiha's side. As if in a trance, the blonde teenager took off his right glove and gently ran his hand down Sasuke's cheek, gazing at the man with soft, uncertain eyes.

**No.**

Naruto jerked his hand back What was he thinking? Blinking his eyes, he once more saw the only clear path to all this- to run.

Sasuke really was almost like an angel. But no heavenly being could have that silky hair that was as dark as hell.

**Hair like His.**

Naruto jumped up into the grating with one swift, soundless movement that would make someone from the Matrix jealous, and was gone.

Seconds later, his cellmate opened his eyes sleepily. Sasuke's eyes carelessly glanced over to where he would see the blonde's soft, spiky hair, and the gentle rise and fall of Naruto's body as he breathed...then looked again, sharper. He sat up suddenly, now wide awake, and threw the covers off Naruto's bed. Nothing.

Across the hall, Akamaru whimpered slightly as his master stroked him with a shaking hand.

In a cell above, someone awoke, sensing the boy's escape with wide, faded-lilac eyes.

In another section, a certain insomniac redhead stopped his struggle of emotions and turned sharp, emerald eyes outside his small window.

And outside the prison, a man in a black cloak chuckled.

* * *

**AN- Yeah, Yeah, I know it's short. It makes me sick too. But this needs to be in here to speed things up. I will update soon (the only thing I like about finals are the half-days), so please don't spork me.**

**Try Desperately To Get To The Good Stuff, -Kali**


	17. More Secrets

**Title- Story of My Life**

**Chapter 17- More Secrets**

**AN- ...c'mon you guys, you're killing me! You ask me to tell you everything! You'll find out soon, sheesh! (And come _on_. Who else in Naruto wears a big black cloak? -sighs exasperatedly-) Also...time for my rant...**

**GYAAAAA! I WANT TO WRITE THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY ALREADY! BUT I CAN'T, BECAUSE OF THE STUPID FILLER PARTS THAT GIVE YOU THE INFO! AND I CAN'T SKIP THOSE, BECAUSE NONE OF YOU HAVE TELEKINETIC POWERS! GYAAAAA! I WANT TO WRITE THE GOOD STUFF! NOT THIS BORING CRAP! I AM ASHAMED OF MY WRITING! MY WORKS ARE PIECES OF DOG FECES! PLEASE, LET ME DO THE HONORABLE SAMURAI THING AND KILL MYSELF!**

**Okay. I feel a lot better now.**

**To TenshiKaitou- A spork is a brilliant piece of cutlery. It looks like a spoon with three small, sharp prongs on the end, like a fork. So therefore it was called a "spork". Or a "foon". Spork just sounds cooler. It is normally a weapon used again Mary-Sues (are you trying to tell me something!) because it's so painful to die by.

* * *

**

_America is just a vast conspiracy to keep everyone happy._

- Unknown

* * *

At exactly 3:26 AM, the chiming of bells were heard throughout the prison. It was a sound heard not often. The last time they had been rung was twenty years ago. Most prisoners had no clue what they meant, and just grumbled that they couldn't sleep.

"Shut the fuck up."

"What the hell are they doing!"

"Shut the _fuck_ up."

"Gawd! I was havin' one of the best dreams ever!"

"I _said_, _shut the fuck up!"_

At exactly 4:47 AM, the prisoners found out what the bells meant.

"Breakout!"

"This is so fuckin' screwed up."

"Who did it?"

"This is so _fuckin'_ screwed up."

"I've been waiting my whole life to breakout, and someone did it before me?"

"This is _so_ fuckin' _screwed up!_"

"You could say that again."

Unfortunately, no one knew who the mysterious jailbird was- at least, not until they realized that the only person that could possibly pull it off was the infamous...

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

"This is so fuckin' cool."

"Only _he_ would be able to pull something like this off."

"This is so _fuckin'_ cool."

"They'll never catch him!"

"This is _so fuckin' cool!_"

At exactly 7:00 AM, another name swept through the prison like wildfire. For the entire jail was searching for who was missing, and the person missing from breakfast was the one person no one would have ever suspected...

"THE KID?"

"No fuckin' way."

"How did he pull it off?"

"No _fuckin'_ way."

"And they _still_ haven't caught him? He's only a kid!"

"_No_ fuckin' _way!_"

In the middle of a heated debate on why it couldn't have been Naruto ("Maybe he just got sick again!") Kiba turned his head. "Hey. The gangers must know somethin'- they're taking them away."

And indeed they were. "Haku, Sakura, Inari, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Gaara, Temari- come with me." a guard called out monotonously. The Demons shared uneasy glances (well, at least Haku and Sakura did- Inari was too busy giving the Kamikazes death glares), but the others just seemed to be amused. There was a large group of guards accompanying the first.

Lee whistled. "Twenty guards! That's a lot!"

"Thank you, Captian Obvious..."

"Shut up, Kiba! I'm attempting to make this an exciting event!"

"Yeah, well, they probably were just planning to murder each other at night, and their plans were foiled."

"...I can't believe you just used the word 'foiled'."

"Shut up, Snoreboy."

"Oh, good one. Your mom teach you that one?"

"No, but she taught me _this-_"

"...cool it."

"Er...heh heh, hi, Shino! Didn't...ah, see you there..."

"That's what you get for trying to make trouble, dog breath..."

"What'd you say, bastard?"

And so, the incident was quickly forgotten by the current company. Or at least, shoved into the very far recesses of their minds. In all but Neji's, who seemed to be staring out in space. 'Probably just daydreaming, like usual,' his friends might think. Oh, but the secretive Neji _never_ daydreams...

* * *

"Why are we in the same room as..._them?_" Inari spat at the two adults sitting at the large oak desk. The group of criminals had been escorted to what appeared to be an office, with only simple scrolls on the walls, the letters on which were unintelligible.

The adult on the right, a man with steel-gray hair and a wart on his nose, eyed the fiery boy. "We need you all here to figure out what's going on."

"But why are w-mmmpphh!"

Haku had quickly put his hand over the brown-haired youth's mouth. "I'm sorry, Jiraya-san. You were saying?"

The woman that Sakura recognized to be Tsunade-san from the hospital room snapped at them. "You know why you're here! What exactly is Uzumaki Naruto?"

The whole room seemed to freeze.

"Why do you want to know?" Sakura said slowly.

SLAM

Everyone jumped as Tsunade slammed a file down on the table and stood up. "YOU KNOW WHY THE HELL WE-"

"Tsunade, calm down," Jiraya said calmly, placing one hand on the inside of her arm. Turning to glare at the man, the buxom woman allowed him to gently pull her back into her seat. He then turned to the Demons with a emotionless face. "He's gone. Disappeared, in fact. We should have expected it sooner, since Itachi has escaped."

Haku's eyes widened. "No," he whispered. "I-it can't be. And you think that-"

"-that he lured that brat out of the safety of your pathetic prison," interrupted Orochimaru, who was grinning evilly. "Ku ku ku, this really _is_ something. And if anyone will bring out the demon side of Uzumaki, the Uchiha's the one to do it."

Jiraya and Tsunade shared a look. "So he is..." Tsunade muttered.

Jiraya rubbed his forehead. "But it doesn't make sense. Itachi wanted all the deceived people to know the truth. Why would he lure Naruto away?"

"He didn't." All eyes turned to the door. There stood Neji, who folded his arms across his chest. "They're still here."

"What do you think you're-" began Tsunade heatedly, but the pale-eyed man cut her off.

"I know what this God-condemned place this is, and about everyone in it. I'm not as stupid and gullible as others." Turning his head, he glared at the two older adults at the table. "When all my relatives with the same...problem, as I have began to disappear or were charged with false crimes or killed, I knew _something_ was up. I just had no clue it was all this grand and complex." He turned and looked at Haku. "Is he really one of the Possessed?"

Haku nodded silently.

"And you're an Elemental? And Sakura and Inari are Mystiques?"

He nodded again.

"And you two-" here Neji pointed to Tsunade and Jiraya, "-and you over there-" he indicated the Kamikazes, "-knew about everything, didn't you?"

No one anwered him, but he didn't want an answer.

Finally Tsunade snapped, her voice not filled with shame but strong and clear in truth, "Well, are you going to just stand there, or let yourself and everyone else be taken down by a monster?"

Neji shrugged and mutter, "I was thinking about it," before leading them all out of the room. Nobody took notice when Kabuto closed his eyes for a minute.

_Everything is working perfectly, Itachi-san._

_/Wonderful. Meet in the field. Make sure everyone is there. And I mean _everyone


	18. The Truth Shall Set You Free

**Title- Story of My Life**

**Chapter 18- The Truth Shall Set You Free**

**AN- OMFG, I am so sorry you guys! I've been so distracted lately...-headbrickwall- Such a bad authoress I am! And on my honor, I _will_ finish this story. Girl Scout's Honor. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. And that really hurts. Trust me. I broke a promise once...-shudders- Never again.

* * *

**

_Truth is more of a stranger than fiction. __-_ Mark Twain

_Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth. _- Lillian Hellman

_All truths pass through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. _- Arthur Schopenhauer

* * *

_I don't understand. Why is he not following us?_

**Maybe it's not us he wants.**

_He wouldn't, though!_

**Remember what he did to our friends before? Time and time again.**

_We have to help them!_

**It's too late.**

_We have to try!_

**It's just a trap!**

_They are the only ones that care about us._

**...we better hurry.

* * *

**

"I told you already, the brat's sick! Now stop ruining my breakfast before I ruin your face!" Kiba snarled at a Sound prisoner, holding his fork up menacingly. Seeing Shino eye him, the man shrugged. "Hey, I was eating." Looking over at Sasuke, who had taken to sitting at their table, he asked him, "So, where _is_ the Kid anyway?"

Sasuke just glared at him, then focused his attention to his syrup-covered eggs. They were all connected; it was all in front of him, dangling on a hook. A very sharp, deadly hook. The murders, the gangs, Naruto...his mind drifted to the blonde boy. 'That's what he is,' he told himself sharply. 'A boy. An innocent boy.'

_But is he really?_ Another part of him mind chimed in. _You don't know anything about him. You didn't bother to ask him, you just snooped._

Lee watched as Sasuke

From the dining hall Kiba could see a group of people walking in the exercise yard. "Hey, Shikamaru. Is that Haku?"

Shikamaru stopped pushing his breakfast across his plate in a bored manner and looked outside. "I don't know. I don't have perfect vision."

"Liar," Kiba muttered. He squinted out the window again. "If Neji were here, he could tell us. Man, it's like that guy can see through walls or somethin'!"

"I wouldn't doubt it."

"What'd you say, pineapple head?"

"...pineapple head?"

"Yeah. You look like a pineapple. And speaking of Neji, I haven't seen him all morning, either..."

"We weren't speaking of Neji, we were speaking of you insulting my-" he stopped and sighed. "I don't feel like arguing with you. Takes too much unneeded energy."

Lee also looked outside. "My friends, I believe that is Neji right there," he pointed.

Kiba stared at something red in the forest. "Hey, what's that-"

Shikamaru looked once out the window, then back at his plate, then did a double-check. His eyes were wide. Something was speeding towards the building nearest to the search party. "What the hell is tha-"

BOOM.

Suddenly the jail was shook with a powerful explosion. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Lee (as well as the other prisoners that had been startled) watched in shock as the huge stone wall of the building exploded, burying the three prisoners (they had all been wearing orange) that had not been able to escape in heavy debris.

Other than a single female prisoner named Cassandra **(1)**, not one of the guards or the prisoners realized how this day would change their lives forever as they raced outside to see more clearly the chaos that was being created.

* * *

Gazing around furtively, Naruto scanned the treetops and open area, searching intently for That Man. 

Then he saw him. Right there.

**Hiding, like always. **

And nodding his head to Orochimaru.

Wait, nodding?

**How the hell did he get that?**

Suddenly, Naruto's blood ran cold, and he realized what they were about to do. Behind the search group was the largest holding building in the jail. Closest to the wall were the remaining Demons. And although he didn't have hawk-eye vision, he could see a three large black objects clinging to the wall.

"NOOOOOOO!" The blonde raced out of his hiding space, screaming. "Inari, Sakura, Haku, run! Doooooooooooon't!"

But it was too late.

As the group looked up, surprised, Orochimaru flashed Naruto an evil grin before pressing some sort of button.

Everything seemed to just move in slow motion, as if for a moment the Fates had decided to make sure that Naruto saw all, heard all, and remembered all that he had caused. All that he had destroyed. The blonde frantically ran, slipping across the loose dirt floor and tripping over rocks, but he always got back up. He was almost there when-

BOOM.

Tsunade pulled Jiraya and Neji out of the way.

The Kamikazes all ran.

But the Demons weren't so lucky. They were too close to run, and they apparently knew that and didn't budge an inch.

Sakura screamed and put her arms over her head in an attempt to shield herself.

Inari stared at the falling wall with terrified eyes and clutched blindly at the arms of his comrades.

Haku pulled them all closer together, silent but afraid, and instinctively forced them all to crouch down as the huge chunks of concrete and steel came raining down on them.

Dust erupted as the debris fell. It engulfed Naruto's friends and raced outward, also encompassing the ones that ran away. Sakura's scream rang through the air.

Finally, there all was quiet. The dust cleared.

Not noticing anyone around him, Naruto just stared in shock at the massive, silent tomb.

* * *

As Naruto sped towards them, fear etched across his face, Tsunade realized that something was about to happen. Spinning around, she saw a detonator in Orochimaru's hand. "Holy fuck!" she yelled, but the man simply pressed a button and ran. Grabbing Jiraya and Neji, she pulled them away from the wall forcefully. One thought raced through her mind. 

'How the hell did he get all that C4?' **(2)**

BOOM.

They heard Sakura scream, but kept running. Dust flew past them, making them stop and cough uncontrollably. Then, as the smoke cleared, they could see the prone figure of a mop-headed blonde, hands limp at his side. Tsunade began to get a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, and she slowly turned around to look at where his wide eyed stare was pointing to. When she saw the cold mound of debris, she turned around and took a cautious step forward. "Naruto..."

Naruto also took a step forward, but not towards her. He walked slowly and deliberately towards the pile of concrete that hid his last friends from view.

And then he began to laugh.

He laughed loud and clear, wild rambunctious laughter- but that at the same time tears were streaming unnoticed down his cheeks. His blue eyes were wide and astonished and unbelieving; but with each slow step towards the grave of the Demons he took, the more sad and anguish-filled the laugh became, until it was deep sobbing.

No one dared to go near him, he seemed so on the brink of insanity. Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes. How could this be Naruto? The man- no, not a man. He looked like a young man before, but with the tears he turned into what he truly was; he was just a lonely, lost little boy.

"G-guys? This isn't funny. This-this isn't funny at all." Naruto took a few more staggering steps towards his unhearing comrades. Ignoring the glass and steel that sliced his skin, he dropped to his knees in front of the pile. "Come out." He suddenly stood up, wrestled a large piece of concrete from the place it had fallen, and threw it to one side viciously. "I SAID COME OUT!" he screamed. "You said you would _stay_! You said nothing would happen! I know you're still here, come _out!_" With every word he spoke he wrenched another rock off the pile until he seemed too tired to yell anymore. " Where are you?" Naruto whispered, his voice hoarse.

Finally Sasuke worked up the courage to walk up to Naruto. Unfortunately, it was at this moment that Naruto suddenly backed up, a look of horror in his tear-filled eyes. "Oh God. I killed them. I-I killed them again. He...he made me! It wasn't me!" He spun around and faced Sasuke, who suddenly got a closer look at Naruto's eyes.

No longer were they a bright blue, or even any shade of blue for that matter. One minute they were a blue-purple color, the next a red violet, then a even, deep shade of purple. His eyes continued to flash these different shades constantly, and in his shock Sasuke stepped back.

Seeing Sasuke back away, the blonde's gaze hardened, and he glared spitefully at Sasuke. "_You_," he hissed. "You're just like everyone! You don't trust me. Never trusted me! You looked through my things, thought I didn't notice! I'm not stupid!"

Sasuke stopped, at a loss for what to say.

"You all think I'm naive and innocent." Here his eyes once again softened and the anger faltered, making him look lost and confused again. Naruto looked down at his hands, which were bloodied from trying to move stones too strong for him, and said softly, "I killed them. And I enjoyed it.

"Am I really destined to serve him?"

He stopped himself and his head flew up towards the treetops, and he snapped, "NO!_ I_ didn't kill them." His eyes glowed with hatred. "_He_ did. And He's here, I know he's here. He must pay, Kyuubi. We finally agree. He must die, and we must kill him. We must! It is what he wants, it is what must be done...No, never...yes, yes," he said, seeming to be impatient with himself. "Whatever must be done, I don't care anymore! No...not anymore..."

Kiba leaned over to Shikamaru and whispered loudly, "He's finally lost it."

Shikamaru just shrugged. "Maybe he never had it in the first place."

"Something strange's happening," Lee informed them softly, tapping them both on the shoulders.

"No shit, Sherlock. Like this entire thing hasn't been strange enough?" Kiba muttered under his breath, but he returned his gaze to Naruto.

Just as sudden and unexpected as the bomb,a strong air currentrushed away from Naruto, and a tremor shook the ground. Those closest fell to the ground to avoid pieces of glass or metal that flew with the strong current. Sasuke, however, let the flying glass cut a gash in his cheek, refusing to move from his spot near the younger man. He wanted to see this for himself, see it and understand it, whatever "it" was. His hair flew wildly in the wind, and then it all stopped.

The arena was eerily silent once again.

The blonde was no longer ranting, or raving, or crying, or screaming, or laughing. He was just standing there calmly, arms crossed over his chest and head bowed slightly. Blonde strands fell over his eyes, blocking them from view. "You win." He stated it as a fact, his voice accepting that this was the truth. "This is the second time. You've succeeded. I have no one left. I'm a murderer. So try and come get your prize, Uchiha."

Tsunade looked at Sasuke, puzzled. "Uchiha?"

Sasuke just stared at Naruto. "What the hell?"

"_You_ did this, you crazy bastard?" Zabuza pushed his way through the crowd. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"What the hell?" His cellmate repeated.

Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows, an evil grin spread across his face. "My, my. Are you all that dim witted? There is, after all, more than one Uchiha in this world."

"But that's..." Tsunade began, but then her voice dwindled down, "...impossible..."

"...unless Sasuke told the truth, all those years ago." Jiraya's face was pale, his eyes wide. "And he _didn't_ kill his family."

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Well done, Detective. Once again you amaze me with your skills. It only took you _how_ long to realize this one? Ah, and the real case is still yet to be solved."

Jiraya looked up sharply. "But...that's impossible...how can he...?"

"Those aren't very intelligent words coming out of your mouth, Detective. And really, do you believe that a mere child could have done what _he_ did? Sorry, try again."

Sasuke's hands had clenched into fists so hard that his fingernails were digging into his skin. A look of pure rage and hatred had filled his eyes, which suddenly flared scarlet. "Him," he hissed. His mind banished all thoughts but one- Sasuke must have his revenge. As he began to leap forward, ready to find and kill his brother, a strong hand grabbed onto his arm, pulling him back.

He turned around, swiftly and murderous. Who _dared_ stop him from getting his revenge. He found himself staring at Naruto. "Let go," he said through clenched teeth.

Clawed fingernails dug into his arm. "He's much too strong," Naruto said, sounding sadistically amused. "You'll never beat him. You don't even know how to control yourself."

Fury building in him, Sasuke punched Naruto with his free hand. The boy's face turned to one side with the impact, but he didn't let go. About to punch him again, Sasuke froze. Looking up at him through wild bangs weren't those accusing blue eyes he had seen earlier. They were narrowed, the pupils slitted like a cat's or a fox's, and they were a bright, blood red. An evil, cruel glint had replaced the cheerful, innocent one.

The Naruto-that-wasn't-Naruto smirk, the tips of sharp fangs showing. "Come now," he purred. "What's all this violence? The boy wanted me to save you, you know." Athough he hadn't moved, the Naruto-that-wasn't-Naruto looked Sasuke up and down critically. "I can't honestly see why he's so interested in you. After all, you truly are so much like..._him_." The smirk vanished, replaced by a look of pure evil, and the voice lost all amusement and became cold and cruel. "You had better leave this to _us_, or I may forget what the boy had me promise. You may want to _revenge _your clan, or whatever matter you may have with him; but Uchiha Itachi is _our_ kill." He shoved Sasuke, sending him sprawling on the glass-covered ground. Sasuke stared at his cellmate. Although Naruto was the same size, he seemed taller, more powerful...darker.

Tossing his blonde hair, the Naruto-that-wasn't-Naruto gazed at the crowd with those fear-striking, crimson eyes. His voice took on an arrogant, over-bearing tone, one that was still full of power and fury. "I never truly had any respect for your kind, but I _had_ gained some because of the acts you did for the Boy." He inspected clawed fingernails with distain. "But all it simply vanished. Humans truly are the most ignorant and stupid creatures I have _ever_ met. And yes," he added, turning his gaze towards Neji. "You _are_ still mortals.

"Weak." He began to pace. "Pathetic." Step. "Overcome by 'morals'." He stopped in front of Ino, who froze, terrified. Leaning in, he whispered, "You don't have the guts or the courage to show who you are." Smirking, he lifted a hand and ran it down the shaking girl's cheek. "Don't have the courage to admit you can read minds?"

Everyone seemed to have stopped breathing. Some looked confused, but most looked scared or even hopeful. "Almost all of you are hard-headed and oblivious to the obvious signs around you." He smirked and began to walk in a slow circle. He stopped in front of Shikamaru and stared him straight in the eyes. Red met brown, then Shikamaru winced with pain and clutched his head. "Puny attempt. You haven't tried to posses anyone for a long time, have you? Might've been easier to get out, don't you think?"

"Who are you?"

Naruto tilted his head back and over to glance at Kiba. "What was that?" he drawled.

Although he was shaking, Kiba stood tall and spoke with a strong voice. "What did you do with Naruto? How do you know all this?" He held Akamaru, who was shivering in his jacket, closer to his chest.

Naruto-that-wasn't-Naruto paused for a moment, as if he was lost in thought. Then a slow smile crept across his face, baring his razor sharp fangs. Akamaru whined. "I _am_ Naruto. The Naruto that might have existed, and _he_ might have been what I was. We are of the Possessed." He stated in what could have been an arrogant manner.

Silence met his declaration.

He rolled his eyes and snarled softly, "Honestly, they think they have Sixth Senses?" Putting one hand on his hip, he waved the other around in the air. "I am Kyuubi. I am what you could almost call the inner Naruto, other than the fact that all his supernatural powers come directly from me. In another life, I might have been the outer one, and he would be locked inside with all of our powers. Unfortunately, in the past twenty lives _I_ have been locked away, the only one to remember our past lives. He remembers nothing, and gains a new appearance, a new name, and a new personality. There were some years that were just...joyfully fun for me." He stopped waving his hand around and sighed in remembrance. "Have you heard of Jack the Ripper? Ah, yes, that was a fun life..." Kyuubi coughed. "Anyway, he remembers nothing, I regain everything, and the same thing happens in every one of his lives, and I can never tell him. Which was sometimes quite devastating, let me tell you. I _told _him not to go to the Colonies to join that colony at Roanoke Island, but did he listen?"

"They don't know what a Sixth Sense is, Kyuubi." Tsunade stepped forward. She was obviously unafraid of the...thing. "They have no clue why this prison was built. All of your mindless chatter is just confusing them even more."

Slowly, Kyuubi turned. The amused, jovial look on his face had vanished, replaced by a fiery hatred that blazed behind scarlet eyes. "It wouldn't _be_ mindless chatter if they had known all along. It never would have gotten this far if they had been told. We wouldn't be forced to hide like dogs if _we_ had know, back then." He tilted his head, blonde hair shifting over glowing eyes. "But that's just 'ifs', isn't it? And we can't go back into the past. Well," Kyuubi chuckled hollowly, "maybe not all of us." He looked out of the corner of his eyes at Jiraya, locking their gazes. "Daisuke Himatoa. He was supposed to meet his grandmother in the park after he got out of school. After three days of searching, a group of children accidentally found his body hidden in the sandbox of a playground near the park.

The cold snarl disappeared from his face and was replaced by a slow-grin, but deep in his eyes the hatred still burned like a coal. Those piercing eyes looked out of their corners and locked gazes with Inspector Jiraya. He inspected his razor-sharp fingernails and, as if he was talking about the weather, recited, " "Daisuke Himatoa, age ten. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, birthmark on his right forearm. Son of the grocer down the street. On April 18, 2009, he was supposed to meet his grandmother in the park after he got out of school. Two months later, his remains were found hidden in the ground underneath the swing set of his elementary school, which was going under construction. He was decapitated, his head on his chest. There was a pattern slashed onto each of his arms and legs." His grin once again vanished, a victim to his never ending mood swings. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention this. Daisuke's mother was committed by her husband after she claimed that she was able to see her son's ghost multiple times, and even speculated that she had been possessed by him for a brief period of time, so that Daisuke could reach someone that he could help."

"What does that have to do with us?" Kiba finally burst. "I may be so scared of you I must be out of my mind to talk to you like this, but I'm so close to losing my mind anyway, with all of this shit you're spouting!"

"What he means is, his small brain doesn't have the capacity to hold all of this confusion," Shikamaru stepped in, his voice low and respectful. It was too much of a pain to be rude to this Kyuubi person, literally.

Kyuubi smirked. With great jumps, he landed on a huge slab of concrete that was at the top of the pile of debris. He clapped his hands together and said with a mock-cheerful voice, "Listen up, children! It's story time!" Surveying the small crowd of people, he began to pace back an forth on the concrete. "Have you ever experienced something strange? Have you been possessed, or can you possess people? Do animals or bugs talk to you? Have you randomly become invisible, walked through walls, been healed miraculously? Do plants grow more quickly around you, and things get set on fire when you're angry? Well, do I have some news for you!" He grinned toothily, baring his fangs. "You have a Sixth Sense, and are hailed by most of the human population as a freak of nature! Not only that, but you're all mindless morons." His voice dropped.

"Each and every one of you here is part of three categories of freaks. You are either A, a Mystique, which means you can heal yourself or other things, you walk through walls, you read minds- physical or mental things. Or you could be B, an Elemental, which means you've got powers with the elements. The main categories for those are water, fire, earth, wind, and metal. Some specialize, like ice, lightning, plants, rocks, animals, or rain. And I highly doubt that any of you, other than the charming, gang-member, mass murderer lurking in the back there are of the Possessed. _I_ am the Possessed. Get it?" Kyuubi scanned his hesitant audience, mirth lining his voice. "Ah, yes, I see the realization dawning in your simple minds. As for this prison," he waved his hand around, "I doubt it was created for any reason other than to create a type of camp, kind of like the ones those Konohanians put the Sound-Konohanians in back in the early Twentieth century **(3)**. Ah, but those were the days," he said to himself, reveling in memories. "The police were so easy to buy off."

"But...this is a prison!" Ino said frantically, her voice high. "We were all convicted! They- they judged us guilty!"

Kyuubi snarled at her. "Foolish girl! Do you actually think that all these people committed these crimes? Most of you were framed, or forced into it, if you remember. Even the guards," he added, an evil smirk on his face. "Every one of you were tricked, cajoled, blackmailed, bribed in one way or another, or forced into a situation that would _lead _you_ directly to this prison_. Please. Why else would the four countries bind together to make this place? Why would you be allowed the freedom and space that you were given? Think hard, fools. You were manipulated. It really _was_ a conspiracy."

"The Four Countries 'greatest criminals'," Shikamaru said softly, aloud.

Hinata turned tear-filled eyes to Tenten. "Th-they forced me!" she choked out softly. "I-I was kidn-n-napped, and they f-f-forced me to...to..." She blushed with shame and ducked her head.

Tenten put her arms around her young friend, who was now sobbing. "In the orphanage, those two guys came up to me and asked if I wanted a knife..." she mused slowly. "That was my first experience with a weapon. I thought I was just really talented, that I always hit my target with bullets or knives."

"At least my mother won't have to wonder why I had so many ant farms, butterfly kits, and spiderwebs in my room," Shino mused.

"Aw, me 'n Akamaru knew the whole time!" Kiba bragged. "I never thought I was crazy. It must run in the family, right boy?" Akamaru barked in agreement.

All over the yard tears of pain and joy trickled down the inmates faces as they shared with one another what had happened that led them here.

"My mom told me my father was a police officer that was killed in a riot, and I became one too! Then they placed me here!"

"I joined a gang when everyone else on the street did. That old guy in the 7/11 was just my initiation!"

"I ran away with a guy that ended up selling me to a prostitution ring. After five years of it, I tracked down every single one of those bastards and made them regret what they had done. _Especially_ him. Who knew bodies burned so easily?"

"I was a singer at a strip club. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and on my last performance. I knocked them dead. Too bad they didn't know I had a killer voice."

The only one that didn't say a word was a dark-haired young man who had wasted the most valuable time in jail on something that he didn't do, to appease a fearful government that he had no wish to harm.

Kyuubi clapped his hands again, more mocking than anything. "Good job! And now, would you like to know who is _really_ responsible for all this? It's a wonderful little group that made the government aware of us, that wants to take over the Four Nations and rule over those who don't have a Sixth Sense. They're the ones..." His eyes narrowed and flashed purple, his voice took on a demonic sound, his voice mixing with Naruto's voice. "...who let me out. So come one, Itachi!" His voice grew louder. "They know everything. You can have your little army now, if they'll even join. And if you don't show up, I'll tell them more of the truth, more of the lies and the things you've done. They'll never join you know, you heartless, no-good-"

"I get the picture." Out of the shadows, a dark shape emerged. The splitting image of Sasuke, but older, with a colder look in his eyes, slowly took form on the tree branch it reclined on. "Quite the little history lesson you gave them, Kyuubi. Are you finished playing teacher with the children, and ready to fulfill your fate?"

**TBC...**

**AN:**

**1) Whoever noticed Cassandra, I give you Kudos. For those who don't know or didn't notice, Cassandra was a prophetess cursed by Apollo, that she would be able to see into the future but that no one would listen to her. She is also one of the people that tried to warn the Trojans in the legendary Trojan War not to take the horse into the city.**

**2) Another for-those-who-don't-know, C4 is an extremely powerful and sensetive bomb. And yes, it's what that guy had in his trunk in _Rush Hour_.**

**3) Also, Kudos to those who saw the connection between Americans/ Japanese-Americans and Konohanians/Sound-Konohanians.**


End file.
